Review of A Clockwork Orange (1971) by Noah C — 07 Feb 2014

Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is a wildly bizarre yet beautiful film about the victims and swine of the modern age, certainly earning its reputation as a classic. Kubrick's signature style is in full effect for the film, his long shots, blocking and brilliant cinematography make viewing A Clockwork Orange very delightful and is certainly one of the best aspects of the film being Kubrick's directing and cinematography.

The acting in the film is equally brilliant with each actor bringing the top of their game to Kubrick's production. All the characters, even seemingly minor characters, serve a purpose in this horrifying modern age.

However, it is Malcom McDowell's performance as crazed sociopath turned "cured" citizen that vividly imprints itself on the film. McDowll went through absolute hell with Kubrick in his performance sometimes doing over one hundred takes to get a scene just right, as well as being drowned for forty seconds with no cut in between scenes, but the performance is all the more powerful because of the true commitment McDowell had to the role of Alex.

The commentary of the film as well as the novel is as relevant as it is horrifying, for most films and novels center on an apocalyptic desolate setting. The modern age of A Clockwork Orange is its own kind of apocalypse, filled with sex violence and hypocrisy.

The only fault with Kubrick's near masterpiece is the incredibly difficult to understand accents of the British actors. They all speak incredibly fast, slurring their words together, which makes some key dialogue simply glossed over due to confusion.

A Clockwork Orange is a near masterpiece of a film, accompanied with a brilliant performance from Malcolm McDowell and excellent direction from the prodigious Stanley Kubrick.