V for Vendetta: Comic vs. Film

Where the film does a better job of creating a horrifying vision of government, the comic book does a much better job with its characters. Evey (Natalie Portman) of the film is a twenty-something strong-minded and well-read woman trying to make something of her self despite a troubled past. Evey of Moore's V is a sixteen-year-old streetwalker with little education and no immediate inclination to ever act out against the government.

The two Eveys are an incredible contrast. An adult who is taken in by a terrorist (or, from another perspective, a revolutionary) is quite different than an under-aged girl seemingly held against her will and eventually converted to a martyr's cause. Still, the Wachowski Brothers cast Natalie Portman in the role, no doubt because of her work in The Professional, where she starred as a character similar to Evey.

Beyond Evey, most every other character shares the same name and job as in the comic book, but are also changed considerably. Stephen Rea plays Finch, a detective heading the V case. He's tasked with stopping the madman from bombing more of London. In the book, Finch is nearly disgraced by his failings to stop V and takes LSD in order to get into the criminal's state of mind. He is not a sympathizer. The film shows much more of Finch and adds a huge government cover-up, allowing Finch to awaken to the government's malice. While Moore's Finch seems ambivalent about a final confrontation with V, the film version of Finch forces a very Hollywood type of choice -- Stop the terrorist, whom he knows is right, or ignore his duty and allow for revolution.

Even the title character is altered for the film. V's face remains a mystery, but McTeigue and the Wachowskis go to great lengths to humanize the character. This is opposite the comic book, which shows V attempting to be inhuman and mannequin-like in his actions. Moore's V is only allowed emotion in rare moments, mainly in rage. He's cold, calculated, a man who believes he is bigger than his own humanity. The film V cooks Evey breakfast, watches movies and has a far more intimate relationship. In both cases he is using Evey.

Don't fault the Wachowski Brothers for this. A movie is a different medium than a comic book and having an emotionless man in a mask on screen for two hours would not be an easy sell. For its themes and its purpose, the more human (and less insane) V of the film is a good fit. That same characterization would have lessened Moore's work.