Summary:
After a couple nights of ‘ultra-violence’ Alex DeLarge is sent to prison, where he undergoes an experimental surgery that will curb his more devious impulses.
My Thoughts:
How does one approach “A Clockwork Orange” to watch it for the first time? I’m not sure I’m the right one to tell you that. The first time I started this movie was with a church group in high school (yeah, bad idea). I unwittingly brought my freshly bought DVD copy of this film to an after church hangout session, and said that I didn’t know much about this movie, but it was directed by Kubrick, and was a film I continuously saw on lists of best movies ever made. So, we started the film. Within the first twenty-five minutes of this movie, our protagonist and his gang brutally assault a drunk, then proceed to interrupt another gang attempting to rape a woman, and then he drives to a home, invades it where he finds a husband and wife; he binds the husband and rapes the wife in front of him. This is not a film you watch after church on a Sunday; if you do, you’ll feel like you’ll need to head right back to church. Needless to say, we didn’t make it far- we didn’t even make it past the first fifteen minutes. Now when a film has content like this, that is still considered rather extreme today, one has to have a reason for putting that sort of content in the film, and Kubrick does; this film is full of incredible ironies and messages, and they wouldn’t be nearly as powerful without the start of this movie being as brutal as it is. This is not a movie I recommend to many people, in fact, unless you’re a huge cinephile, or have watched a ton of bizarre movie before, I probably wouldn’t recommend this to you. Because of the content, this isn’t a film I’d ever recommend to my parents (I’d even have misgivings about recommending it to someone at work), but it is undeniably a masterful film, one that has far more to say on the human psyche and the ironies of penal rehabilitation than many modern films even attempt to say.
“I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain!”
Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell, “Silent Hill: Revelation”) leads a group of ‘droogs’ in a night of ultra-violence. The next day his gang members squabble over who should really be in charge, and Alex puts them in their place. That night Alex and his droogs attempt another night of violence and rape, but the police arrive and Alex’s droogs betray him and leave him to take the blame. Alex goes to prison where he eventually learns of an experimental rehabilitation program that will allow him to leave prison and return to society in no time at all. Alex undergoes this procedure, but the side effects are worse than he imagined.
So first and foremost is the direction of this film, which, as one might imagine, is top notch from Stanley Kubrick. It was during this time period that Kubrick did his best work (in my opinion), having just come off “2001: A Space Odyssey”, and after this going on to make “Barry Lyndon” and “The Shining”. Here we find some of his greatest attention to detail, not only with framing, staging, and production design, but also with the details in the dialogue. Kubrick wrote and directed this adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s novel, which uses heightened forms of dialogue throughout the entire film. The dialect is a sort of pseudo-Shakespearean with Burgess’s lingo and slang thrown in; the film is full of words that don’t really exist (droogs, being one), and it really helps add depth to the world that Alex so loves to terrorize. I think one thing I really like about Kubrick’s direction here is that he’s really found his voice, and we see all of his trademarks start to shine through and develop themselves. There are lots of scenes when the camera starts in close on one object, then tracks back to reveal a much larger picture; many times the characters in these scenes will remain stationary- almost as if Kubrick just wants you to stop and appreciate the mis-en-scene that’s happening before you. Other trademarks would be framing his characters with lights, specific uses of colors in certain scenes, amazing use of classical music (Beethoven in particular for this movie), long tracking shots or shots with long depth of field, and of course the detailed production design. His writing is also rather iconic in this movie, not only with the dialect, but also his satirical undertones that he works in throughout the piece. While this film is undeniably disturbing at times, Alex is a funny character (though maybe the first time through the humor doesn’t ring through as much; I remember my first time through just being completely unsettled). He has little quirks that Kubrick is sure to bring to the forefront of the screen- the way Alex pops his mouth open when he’s being fed, the way he speaks to other people sometimes- condescending, but almost polite (“Welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, well. To what do I owe the extreme pleasure of this surprising visit?”). The character’s biggest flaws and greatest assets are brought forward by Kubrick extreme attention to detail.
While Kubrick’s direction is amazing in this film, it’s really all the ironies of this story that make it stick with me. In this paragraph there will be some spoilers, as I will be discussing the end of the film, if you want to skip the spoilers, meet me at the next paragraph. So really, this story’s events are sort of played out twice before us; once as Alex is a sociopath and prone to ultra-violence, and once after he’s gone through the Ludovico Technique and he’s ‘rehabilitated.’ But really, the ironies start when Alex reaches prison and begins studying the Bible, which, as the prison guards see it, is a good thing. But as we see inside the mind of Alex, we see that while he is reading the Bible, the only things he likes in it are the stories of battles and concubines; he doesn’t care for the ‘preachy parts.’ As Alex begins his treatment, it’s also ironic that he would hear his favorite musician’s music being played underneath some horrible images of Nazi Germany. The ironies really ramp up as Alex leaves prison, and is put face to face with some of the people he assaulted; the drunk that was singing under the overpass; and then two of his old Droods, who have now become police officers. But the ironies go even further when Alex, beaten and dejected, arrives back at the home of the Alexanders (the couple that he bound and raped near the very beginning of the film). In reaching the Alexander’s home, we find that Alex is put face to face with one of the people whose lives he has utterly ruined, but Alex is able to relax because the man doesn’t recognize him as the man that raped his wife (he and his droods always wore masks), but as the prisoner who’d undergone the experimental surgery. Mr Alexander (Patrick Magee, “Chariots of Fire”) has sympathy on Alex, and seeks to use Alex’s story as a means to weaken a corrupt government, but the ironies go even further when Alex accidentally reveals his own identity, and Alexander realizes that he is housing the man who raped his wife. After extracting Alex’s story about what happened during the treatment, Alexander drugs Alex and tries to get him to commit suicide by playing Beethoven (the ninth symphony- his favorite piece). Alex attempts suicide but survives. Finally, at the end of the film, the irony reaches its peak, when Alex lies in bed and is met by the Prime Minister of England who tells Alex that he is sorry for what happened to him, and that they would like to offer Alex a job. When Alex asks what he’ll be doing, the minister responds that Alex must prove to the world that the surgery was ineffective, suggesting that Alex return to his old ways of tormenting society, while fully under protection of the British government. This film could be called Irony: the Movie (though that’s a terrible title); the layers upon layers of ironies make this film incredibly memorable and even funnier at times. (SPOILERS END)
If I did have one minor qualm with this film it’s that I’ve always found Malcolm McDowell’s acting to be a bit uneven. There are certainly scenes when he is terrifying and he eats up the screen (the first thirty minutes of this film McDowell is absolutely spellbinding), but there are other scenes when McDowell feels a little stilted (some scenes with more lengthy dialogue feel a little off for me). Overall, however, most of the actors are fantastic, and there are some truly hilarious performances, particularly from one of the prison guards and Alex’s overbearing schoolteacher (whom also might have a thing for Alex).
Verdict:
This is a great film, but I say that with some reservations. This is not a film I’d ever recommend to people under the age of seventeen; this is a very hard R- even by today’s standards. However, beyond the content of this film, there is a story that is worth seeing, and a message that is worth hearing. Alex DeLarge is a character that has transcended time and art and become immortal; his journey is one of profound meaning. If you’re a cinephile I absolutely recommend this film, if you’re a casual moviegoer, perhaps do a bit of research before you dive in. This is a rough but rewarding film.
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