A Clockwork Orange

Burgess’ most popular novel, A Clockwork Orange, is an exploration of good and evil, an unanswerable question posed to its readers; is it better to be good against one’s will or choose to be evil? Is it our actions or our choices that count? Though the movie has every bit of violence (beatings, rape, and murder—in that order) as the book, it does lack one essential component—Burgess’ philosophical ending. Despite being a huge fan of Kubrick’s tricky cinematography, his absolute dedication to the first twenty chapters of the novel, I found myself hugely disappointed (and a good deal frightened) of the film’s ending (or lack thereof). Otherwise, the film is well-done, with excellent music, terrifyingly good actors, and a great deal of ultraviolence. A Clockwork Orange is definitely worth one uncomfortable sitting (just don’t watch it with anyone of the opposite sex, or your parents).

Both disturbing and fascinating.