A Clockwork Toy Wound Up By The Almighty State (Movie Only) (Clockwork Orange (DVD))

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Clockwork Orange (DVD)
Date:	19/12/07 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Incredible performance from McDowell

Disadvantages: Violence, rape and torture will put some off

There is something subversively appealing about art media that becomes banned even for a short while and "A Clockwork Orange" is just such a movie that's fascinated me for years. Following its release in 1971, the movie adaptation of Anthony's Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name was eventually withdrawn from UK cinemas following a string of copycat acts of violence and threats made to the director Stanley Kubrick and his family. Some 27 years after its original release, a version of the movie was re-released on VHS and DVD following Kubrick's death. I finally caught up with the controversial film a short while ago.

Set in 1992 (as opposed to 2017 in the book), Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) is a teenage boy who is the charismatic leader of his gang, the droogs. Often loaded up on narcotic-laden milk, the gang pursue an existence of contemporary violence, brutality and rape. Narrating in nadsat, a mix of Slavic, English and cockney rhyming slang, Alex weaves an evocative tale of seemingly pointless ultra violence and conscience-less expressions of physical chaos. As the gang's acts become more extreme, they trick their way into a writer's home, raping his wife and forcing him to watch whilst singing the Gene Kelly classic "Singin' in the rain". With tension in the group rising, Alex suppresses his friends by assaulting them and bending them to his will but following a similar incursion into a woman's house, the gang sell their leader out, leaving him stranded after he accidentally beats the owner to death. Subsequently arrested and convicted, Alex is chosen for a government experiment aimed at rehabilitating criminals by using aversion therapy. Allegedly cured and released, Alex comes to reap the consequences of his former acts.

"A Clockwork Orange" is a cacophony of disturbing, violent imagery designed to provoke a social debate about the limits of free will. It's easy to see why the movie was banned for so long. With not one but two graphic scenes of rape, a constant theme of extreme violence and a speeded up sex scene set to the William Tell Overture, the film will be simply too much for many even now. For a movie from the early 70's, the sets look typically understated for that time, allowing for the film's budget of $2million. With Stanley Kubrick producing, directing and co-writing the screenplay, the movie is the vehicle of one of the cinema's great exponents of the visual arts and with a strong cast and an extraordinary performance from the male lead, Malcolm McDowell, the film poses thoughtful and challenging questions about the rights of an individual as contrasted with the rights of the majority.

The translation from book to movie is successful, certainly in terms of asking the questions that the book wanted to raise. Drawn from a Cockney expression ""as queer as a clockwork orange" the central tenet is one of free will and the notion that, in Burgess's terms, "...a creature who can only perform good or evil is a clockwork orange - meaning that he has the appearance of an organism lovely with color and juice, but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil; or the almighty state." Ultimately, is one's ability to perform socially abhorrent acts preferable to the inability to carry out the same having been made incapable of free will even though that might comply with the moral code of the majority and society as a whole? Whilst the answer may seem obvious to start off with, the story renders doubt in the audience's mind as the plot progresses and events unfold following Alex's apparent rehabilitation.

There are some familiar faces from that cinematic era. Irish actor Patrick Magee plays the vengeful writer, Mr Alexander (who has THE most maniacal of expressions in some of the later scenes); Warren Clarke (best known for playing Dalziel in the BBC's "Dalziel and Pascoe") plays Dim, one of the rampant droogs and Michael Bates pops up as the chief guard. However, "A Clockwork Orange" will always be best known for the wild-eyed intensity of Malcolm McDowell's lead. Narrating with an iambic lilt, McDowell navigates the extremes of emotion and is as convincing a psychopath as you will see whilst exuding a certain charm.

Music is important to the general theme of the movie and with Beethoven, Purcell and Rossini all featured, there's a certain wordless edge to a number of the key scenes. With synthesizer pieces from Wendy Carlos lending a futuristic feel to proceedings, a combination of classical and contemporary music blends to underline a dystopian setting in which social violence is commonplace and the moral fabric of society is in question. The youthful lead takes us on an uncomfortable journey of unfettered brutality and later on, recalcitrant timidity, with no shortage of social comment made; none less than Alex's subsequent encounter, post-prison, with two former droogs who are now in the police force but whose behaviour blurs the line between upholders of an acceptable, behavioral framework and those who would corrupt it from within (they nearly drown him in a trough of water because, well, they can). The closing reels provide the doubt that the script seeks to find as McDowell's final, crazed smile leaves a lingering ambiguity in the audience's mind.

With an 18 certificate and a run time of 136 minutes, "A Clockwork Orange" is a powerful, shocking urban drama that poses a fascinating moral dilemma. Nominated for 4 Oscars and with a string of other awards, the movie is a frighteningly raw installment of cinematic history. Watch it for McDowell's amazing performance; watch it to see how a question with a seemingly obvious, black and white answer can be made into something far more controversial and ultimately painted with several shades of grey. "A Clockwork Orange" is not an easy film to watch and absolutely one for adults but if you watch one more film this year, make it this one.

Thanks for reading

Mara

DVD available at Amazon from £3.98

Summary: Overview of movie