"A Clockwork Orange"

Last night I had the pleasure of viewing for the very first time a brilliant and controversial film made by Stanley Kubrick in 1972, A Clockwork Orange. I love all kinds of movies, even bad movies, as was made previously evident by my Top 20 Halloween Flicks blog entry. But for me, brilliant filmmaking, is when I'm so sucked into the picture that I completely become a part of that world and forget where I'm sitting until jarred by the phone ringing or door knocking. I was living in this movie within the first twenty minutes and was totally riveted for the remaining two hours. Furthermore, it's one of those movies that makes you feel a wide range of conflicting emotions all at the same time. I was shocked, horrified, turned on and sympathetic for our villain, played by Malcom McDowell, all at the same time. It's rare that we root for the "bad guys," isn't it? I can only think of maybe Darth Vader as a comparison. But when we root for the bad guys it is because we know, at the heart of them, they're not really bad at all, but merely lost, trapped in the grip of circumstance and/or misunderstood.

A Clockwork Orange takes places in what seems to be a post-apocalyptic society where what small government is left doesn't have much rule over law and order. McDowell's character, Alex de Large, is a fourteen year old who runs a posse that spends its evenings beating the homeless or raping innocent women. But when the government finds an affective syrum that, mixed with a form of shock treatment, can turn its criminals into do-gooders, McDowell finds himself in for a rude awakening.

The movie, based on the book by Anthony Burgess, questions many things, among them being: If the government could, would they do such a thing to its criminals? Are those criminals still "human" and do they have a spiritual soul if they can no longer choose between good and evil? Are we not human if we are always forced to choose good? (One of many metaphoric references I adore in this movie is when McDowell returns home reformed to find that his pet snake has died in his absence. I think the snake represents the temptation of sin in the garden of good and evil.) What turns your average teenager into a criminal mastermind? What is it about us that makes us root for him and relate to him, despite his penchant for "ultra-violence"? And how far are we from actually living in a society like this one? Or are we already?

The movie was rated X upon its release, hard to believe by today's standards, though understandable back then with its nearly full frontal shot of the super hung McDowell (he is SO ridiculously hot in this movie!), rape scenes, senseless beatings and full frontal nude women. It is one of only two movies rated X to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

I highly recommend it, as it has quickly jumped to my Top Ten list of all-time greatest films. I laughed. I cried. I cringed. I felt a little sick to my stomach. I jacked off. Twice.

One question remains: Why is the movie called A Clockwork Orange? I have my opinions. What's your's?