Review of A Clockwork Orange (1971) by Swati — 12 Nov 2013

Felt probably a bit over acted. There were some great scenes_ sometimes shockingly violent, other times downright hilarious. There was a fair amount of erotic nudity so be advised. But it also tended to drag a little bit. There was simply too much extraneous detail. The score was lively. I think the lead actor did a wonderful job, if not the others. It was a satire of the modern age justice system where it prefers to mend the ways of hardened criminals instead of sticking it to them.

The dialogue was tailored to the circumstances and didn't feel natural. I watched it with an objective mind, as I watch everything else, but I couldn't shake the feeling toward the end that the audience was somehow required to feel bad for Alex as the society turned the tables on him. How he conveniently ran into the same people he had wronged in the course of a single day is beyond my tolerance for the device known as the suspension of disbelief, which is there to help enhance entertainment, not to infuriate by insulting people's intelligence. The worst part was that I predicted the ending precisely.

I just feel like documenting just the events of his life without the underlying moral of the story would have been a better way to go about it. And I seriously don't believe celebrating Alex's depraved urgings was very responsible. But I never hold it against a movie for doing that. If someone is attracted to crime by watching crime movies, it's hardly the director's fault. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. The plot, though, was sufficient for the story that they sought to tell.

I recommend that everyone watch this movie at least once. However, I can't say with certainty that I'm going to enjoy watching it again, for it's a bit long and there simply wasn't much going on to warrant such a length.