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A Clockwork Orange
the one line review:
seriously fucked up
the overview
Stanley Kubrick is renowned for making films which are different. Films that make you think. Make you wonder. Well, make you wonder what the hell is going on. He doesn't make straightforward easy to follow linear action films, he makes films which have a point, and a meaning, are full of subtle jokes, snipes or subversions. And this is no exception.
the plot:
Alex Delarge (McDowell) is a young kid hellbent on the nasty things in life. Drinking milk, beating people, burglary, rape. Usual stuff. He's accompanied by his 3 chums who go about terrorising anyone and everyone. When he's caught by the police, he's sent to prison, where one day, an experimental conditioning treatment, designed to cure him of his problems is used on him. The full gore of the horrifying results and the effect it has on him is explored in this film.
the verdict:
It's a long film, which writhes slowly from scene to scene. The dialogue is entirely of a mix of Russian, English and slang, developed by the writer of the book, Anthony Burgess. The film is sickeningly brutal, both in the depiction of the events, and the events it is depicting. In true Kubrick style, this film is chockablock with sexual imagery (including at least 2 openly exposed badgers), and scenes of a pretty graphic nature. The film is making several points, one or two of them political, one or two of them social. All of them are presented in a no holds barred sort of a way.
I have to admit that for the first hour or so I was bored by it. It takes a long time to get going, and for the most part you're wondering what the hell is wrong with this thing. But as it unravels, you gradually get sucked into it, and you long to find out what will happen in the end.
The almost continuous classical background music makes the whole thing feel almost like a ballet, even during the fight and rape scenes, and enough of Kubricks directorial trademarks are kept in to know that you're watching something of a masterpiece.
The film is reasonably hard going, especially for younger viewers who are conditioned to the high octane, mega-explosion style of film-making, but for those with a bit of patience, this is a brilliant little mindfucker that'll have you smiling to yourself contentedly.
Check out the IMDb for heaps of trivia surrounding this film, including, the actor who plays Frank's bodyguard, who is the same guy under the Darth Vader costume in the early Star Wars films.
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