Monday, September 7, 2009

A Clockwork Orange


Hi hi hi there”! A Clockwork Orange is an English movie directed by Stanley Kubrik based on a book by the same name. His last movie was Eyes Wide Shut, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. According to IMDB, his other movie Full Metal Jacket, is as good as A Clockwork Orange, both being rated 8.5 on 10. A Clockwork Orange stars Malcolm McDowell playing the protagonist, Alex. I was surprised to find that McDowell has done voice-overs for a wide range of cartoons, including my favourite ever cartoon Phineas and Ferb. He has also appeared in TV series HEROES and Entourage.
It’s a tad bit hard for me to write a review on A Clockwork Orange because the movie is very peculiar. It is about a young school going boy Alex, who along with his ”droogs” Georgie, Pete and Dim, goes about his town, wreaking havoc by making outrageous sex offenses. He assumes the surname DeLarge after successfully luring two girls from a music store to sleep with him. Being the leader of his fellow “droogies”, he becomes a “malenky” bit too bossy, his mates betray him and he gets caught by the police, being accused of murder. After two years in prison he volunteers for a therapy that will allow him to get out of prison in a fortnight’s time. The therapy sort of rehabilitates him by creating an aversion in his mind against any sort of crime. So according to the treatment, he is made to “viddy” destructive and violent movies and as a result of it, he gets struck by a wave of nausea and a load of negative reactions in response to “ultra-violent” crimes.
The very first scene in the movie is so bizarre. The first few minutes are very disturbing and might make you want to stop the movie, but once you make it through those petrifying minutes, you’ll be fine. The most eccentric scene in the movie in my opinion is when he is undergoing the therapy. It’s scary and idiosyncratic. The idea of the fake eyelash to make Alex look atypical and mysterious totally works. The intensity of the scenes towards the end is hair-raising! The background scores, a lot of it being Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony9 blends in perfectly. You’ll find a rather strange variation of the British accent and peculiar form of slang among the teenagers. Best if you watch it with subtitles! Alex DeLarge’s character is solid and influential. (The Joker’s character from Dark Knight is inspired by Alex’s character) The movie completely deviates from the normal thriller or drama movies. Very unusual and different. An extraordinary, brutal masterpiece! Four and a half on five.