Oct 20, 2010 03:05 AM
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(Updated Apr 04, 2011 10:00 PM)
'A Clockwork Orange' as a string in Google's search page would take you to a window with innumerable links associated with the film to choose from. For those who are not aware of the slightly ridiculous title of the English film, it was a highly controversial piece of filmmaking at the time of its release. Following its venture into the market, it was immediately banned in several countries, including the one that it represented. Its director, the immensely respected genius with a widely known name of Stanley Kubrick, is often considered to be among the greatest filmmakers of all time. However, he had to withdraw his own film from theatres after receiving death threats from conservative groups in Britain during that time. The hugely debated film remained as a banned product from 1971 (the year when it released) till 1999, the year of Kubrick's death. Enthusiasts finally had the opportunity to watch the film, although it was a straight to VCD/DVD release.
Despite the scathing remarks it had received from many people in the early 1970s, critics did appreciate Stanley Kubrick's technical achievements with this one, and praised its smooth narrative structure. With positive reviews and encouraging feedback the film started garnering after 2000, it did finally get its due. Now, it is often considered by many, to be one of the best films to have been made in any language throughout the world.
Plot: The plot and storyline might give you an impression about the kind of film it is, and hint you regarding it being the centre of that controversy and the hue and cry that had followed its making and gradual release. It narrates the story of Alex, a sociopath teenager who is a citizen of a futuristic Britain; who lives the life of a typical schoolboy but has other things occupying his mind as the evening progresses. During night-time, he is a brutal rapist and killer, and is accompanied in his deadly endeavours by his three close friends or droogs as he calls them. Together, they form a gang, drink drugged milk in the nearby Korova Milkbar, and prepare themselves for an evening of exquisite pleasure and 'Ultra-violence'. The other thing that gives him immense satisfaction apart from Ultra-violence is his fascination with listening to Ludvick Van Beethoven. The music transports his senses to a different world altogether where sufferings, deaths, killings, catastrophes, and other forms of disasters constitute a whimsical world.
After one of his so-called pleasurable adventures, he finally gets caught by the local police, and thereby begins, in his own humble words, the real tragic part of this story. While in prison, he comes to know about a classical conditioning technique introduced by the government, which is to be applied on a few selected prisoners. According to the successful implementation of the technique, the criminal's mind would be shaped and made to function in a specific way so that he becomes simply incapable of committing any crime, even if he otherwise tries to. This experiment is thus conducted on our protagonist Alex. Does he become 'reformed' in the truest sense of the word? For knowing about it and the rest of the film, you would need to watch it further.
Analysis: Despite the film being considered a must watch by me after viewing it multiple times and deserving a place in my list of all time favourites of any genre, I may still need to give substantial thought before recommending it to anyone else. This is so because honestly speaking, its theme and the overall idea behind its execution may not be digestible to a conventional stomach. However, it raises some very valid points and observations about the society on a larger scale, in a manner that is brutally satirical. Is an individual, who has lost the very basic ability to choose between good and evil, incapable of being called a human? Goodness should invariably come from within; a person who has goodness imposed on him instead of being given an opportunity to choose good over evil ceases to be considered as a member of the human race. The thematic undertones further introspect whether a person who chooses to be bad is in some way better than one who has no choice but to act according to what he has been mechanically set up to do so. In a way, we all are mechanical clockworks; many of us choose to be good not because we want to, but because being bad comes with paying a price for it (jail, sentence, conviction).
It is a highly relevant piece of cinematic vision from whichever perspective you view it, especially keeping in mind the modern society that we live in. There is reflection of ambiguity in almost every frame; and a display of vastly different meanings is at work. The tone of the film shifts from being sharply satirical, to being a sadistic delight, to one that is outright sarcastic. Even after viewing it so many times, a different point of view of the director hits me right in my study of the highly thought out yet supremely objective piece of revolutionary film-making. It is anything but superficial in its approach.
The film does contain violent and disturbing frames and is strictly prohibited for children. With scenes containing graphic images of women being gang raped and the technicians playing a comical music score in the background for supplementation, many may find it to be an absolutely weird piece of cinema. It is definitely not to everyone's taste and many may confuse its ideologies to be completely opposite to their own. Still, not taking the seemingly appalling scenes into consideration, A Clockwork Orange can be absolutely recommended to intellectuals who prefer to view cinema as a subject of study rather than viewing it for quenching their definite entertainment needs; or going through it just for the sake of it all. Intellectuals and pseudo intellectuals like me may still not like it, but the film has the power of easily becoming a hot topic for debate and discussion.
Looking beyond the message and the set of opinions of the legendary Stanley Kubrick's genius movie-making mindset behind it, the film is an astonishing technical work. Be it the performances, the screenplay, or the haunting background score, the movie raises few objections on those fronts. A special mention to actor Malcolm McDowell. With a highly mobile and expressive face, the performer dives into the skin of the legendary character of Alex DeLarge and delivers a knockout performance. He makes you despise him to the core; yet you cannot help but feel sympathy towards him in the final few reels - a sort of unbelievable accomplishment for the actor.
Apart from using Beethoven's symphonies, the film boasts of a highly effective background score that stays with you hours after you've finished watching the film. Nothing less than this statement can do justice to the impact it creates. Kubrick's directorial capabilities are flawless and this film is a shining example of that. Whatever cinematic heights he might have hoped to achieve stand accomplished with this one.
Not really recommended to those who do not have a strong stomach. However, they can still survive the uneasiness if they somehow manage through the initial 30 minutes without being offended. Beyond that, there are huge chances that they would find themselves sincerely and thoroughly engrossed in the fantastic storytelling of a bizarre, mind twisting experience!
