There are few films that keep the audience hooked from start
to finish. There are fewer yet that manage to keep the audience constantly
guessing as to what will happen next in the story. When a film manages to
captivate its audience in such a way, it is usually expected that such a film
would be highly rated. Such is the case of the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange
which was directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Alex is a teenager who enjoys getting into trouble. His past
run-ins have lead to several warnings and he is on the brink of being locked
away in a cell, but his violent nature will not allow him to reform himself of
his own account. He is joined by a group of three friends who share his
penchant for violent and abusive behaviour. Together they go about vandalising
property, engaging in fights, assaulting peace-loving citizens and sexually
abusing anyone they fancy. With time, Alex becomes a dictator-like head of the
group and frustrates the others into a mutiny. Stifled by Alex’s aggression,
the others hitch a plan to get him locked away by putting him in a situation
where he will lose all calm and commit a horrible act of aggression that will
ultimately change the rest of his life.
A Clockwork Orange was directed by Stanley Kubrick who also
wrote the screenplay based on a novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess. The
story uses extremely unpleasant behaviour from the main characters to depict
the traits of juvenile sociopaths. It is an exaggerated social commentary on
the thoughts of adolescent young men. The main highlights of the film are the
subjects of rape, ‘ultra-violence’ and an obsession with classical music which
provides the protagonist with a belief that he is better than other delinquents
because of his refined tastes.
The film employs first-person narration by the protagonist
to emphasis the story. He narrates the emotions that run through his head which
would be difficult for the audience to understand since his actions are mostly
unexpected. The narration also helps piece together sections of the film which
seem to be missing and provide a link as the story skips several months in the
timeline. Instead of using track shots, the director opted to use the zoom
technique in quite a few shots; particularly in the opening sequences. The
first shot of the film itself is a zoom shot which begins with a close-up of
the protagonist’s face and then gradually zooms out to establish a large room
which he is sitting in. Use of narration and zoom shots are usually considered
faux-pas in filmmaking, but the use in this film may be considered an exception
since they are used well on occasion. Other techniques utilised include use of
classical music in the background score since it forms a key part of the story.
What is most astonishing about the story is that the
audience never really comes to grips with what is happen and the guessing game
extends from trying to predict what will happen next in the story to what the
character is actually thinking. Trying to understand the protagonist becomes
important for the audience member since his actions are not easily explained by
rational decisions. The language in the film is not easy to decipher since it
involves plenty of Cockney slang and made-up words by the protagonist. The
character and his idiosyncrasies were created with the intention of the
throwing the audience off and to keep them constantly guessing.
The film starts off quick and establishes the character
early. From there it moves into his daily life routine which is part amusing
and part shocking for the audience. A conflict is then introduced in the
storyline which changes the routine life of the protagonist for the rest of the
film. Unfortunately, the film moves quickly and is interesting until this point
but tends to move slowly and becomes illogical after the conflict is introduced.
The film has its moments and some sections of it are truly
iconic. However, it does drag on towards the latter half. All the same, it is
quite a good film especially with the interesting use of faux-pas techniques
and since it captivates the audience and keeps them guessing.
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