W for Wilde

Two movies I have watched recently:

(1) V for Vendetta. I went into this with very low expectations, as I’ve been burned before by comic adaptations, especially adaptations of layered, textured comics with a multitude of well-developed characters. They inevitably turn into a 2D version of themselves, once they’re forced through the Movie filter like play-doh. However, having said that, V4V was most enjoyable. Sure enough, they bailed on developing the characters – you never really get a sense of why any of the non-lead characters are doing what they do – but they did stay true to the sprit of the thing. I shall buy the DVD, for sure. Hugo Weaving had a damn tough job to do, acting through a mask that completely covers his face for the whole of the film. And he did it.

(2) Wilde, starring Stephen Fry. A biopic of Oscar Wilde. Another most enjoyable film. It made me angry. As I get older, the persecution of people based on their sexual preference becomes more and more obviously rage-worthy. It becomes ridiculous, like persecuting people based on eating the wrong kind of food, or working on the wrong day. Except religious people have done _that_, too. And they’d do it again if they thought they could get away with it.