Film Comment: A Clockwork Orange

I have to admit that A Clockwork Orange (1971) is one of my favorite films.  I believe it is one of the films, like Citizen Kane and Casablanca, which is nearly perfectly made.  Every element, every sound, every piece of scenery, every piece of clothing, every facial expression; it is all essential to the totality of the film.  This is not a pretty film and the "hero" is a monster of the worst sort.  The film grabs your emotions and evokes revulsion and horror at the creature, Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell).  What happens to Alex pulls the viewer into feeling sympathy, even pity, for him.  At Alex's triumph, the viewer may well feel that justice has been done.  The reason that this film is so important, and is studied in every film school, is that it forces the viewer to think.

Based on the same-named science-fiction novel by Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange was long thought to be unfilmable.  The film retains the odd slang and nihilist, crumbling culture of the novel.  The legal authorities are useless and ineffectual, so much so that Alex's gang, his three Droogies, can be deputized.  This is like hiring cannibals to babysit your children for a week.  

In a near-future dystopian England, Alex DeLarge leads his droogies on nightly rages of rape, bloody violence, and murder.  Alex and the boys respect no one and nothing  and fuel their rages with "milk plus" (milk spiked with mind-altering drugs).  The mindless sprees are set to classical music because the only thing Alex loves, besides himself, is the music of "Ludwig van" (good old Beethoven).

On a particularly violent night, Alex is betrayed by his droogies and is captured by the police.  In prison, Alex becomes the subject of a horrifying mind-altering experiment which causes him to become nauseous at the mere passing thought of committing violence.  And to Alex's horror, nausea upon hearing any music by his beloved Ludwig van.

Released as a totally reformed gentle man, Alex soon finds he has a very big problem.  His former victims remember him very well and he vomits at the thought of defending himself against them.  A true lose-lose situation.

The horrified authorities hadn't intended this outcome and feel that they have little choice but to change Alex bag to his old evil self.  Alex, of course, is delighted.

This film raises many questions: personal responsibility, free will, determinism, the nature of evil, and society's legitimate response to violence.  As surgical and pharmaceutical advances make transformations such as this entirely possible, should they be used in violation of the free will of the transgressor?  Would  a transformed criminal really be a reformed man?

Does society have the right to incarcerate or even to kill to maintain the public good?  Does society have the right to force individuals to submit to procedures which may "correct" their behavior?  Who decides what is "correct" behavior?  Does "correct" behavior include "correct" thought?  Does society have the right to screen and "treat" persons because their genetic profile says they may commit crimes in the future?

Realize if you decide to view A Clockwork Orange that it portrays extreme violence, rape, human medical experimentation, sexual situations, nudity, and phallic images.  Two excellent films with similar subject matter are Minority Report and GATTACA.