A clockwork orange

Finally I have got round to watching this film. For years I have heard it revered as one of the most shocking and greatest films ever made. Upon watching it, I feel that both these claims are grossly overstated, but it is in itself a good film.

My reasons for not regarding it as one of the best film ever made are more than niggling points; they are in my opinion quite serious problems with the film. One point is the fact that I found the first 20-30 minutes of the film almost quite amateur; with a terrible, wooden fight scene in a theatre as a particular point of reference. At this point, I was having fun, with the bizzare language used by the main characters, but was not by any means blown away by anything. However, once this chapter finally ends, a heavier plot is introduced, and the fun element is almost completely removed, only cropping up in the odd comedy relief moment. This change in tone lead the film to explore some controversial topics whilst continuing to tell the story of the main character. This chapter takes up a large portion of the film, and creates an arc in the main character. It is this part that is technically very well done, but is the least enjoyable part of the film. The final chapter is where everything gets very confused; it tries to retain the depressed tone, perhaps even build on it, but also features situations that excel the comedy value of the light first chapter. This makes the film very hard to follow in the sense that you aren't sure whether to laugh at or feel sorry for the main character. Turning points towards the end where characters meet up again all feel very contrived, and when we see the main character meet with an old victim, it is done in a very lazy way; as though the writers became stuck as how to make them meet again. The final scenes once again pick up, making the tone more comprehensible, and the plot more believable

Acting is all fine, with main characters played excellently, and all supporting cast at least doing the job.

The overall look of the film is very interesting as well, with the "futuristic" look of the early '70's, and the odd costumes the "droogs" wear.

Although this may read as a bad review, I give this film 8/10. I have chosen to dwell on my personal gripes with the film, as any and almost every review will point out the over-mentioned good points to the film, overlooking any flaws, as happens with so many films regarded as classics. At the end of the day, all films have flaws.