1984
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
**1/2 (out of 4 = OK) 1984, R, 115 minutes [1 hour, 55 minutes] [science fiction/drama] starring: John Hurt (Winston Smith), Suzanna Hamilton (Julia), Richard Burton (O'Brien), produced by Simon Perry, written by Michael Radford, Jonathon Gems, directed by Radford, based on the novel by George Orwell.
When a film is based on a famous novel, the filmmakers often make the mistake of assuming the viewer is familiar with the material and thus don't provide necessary details. "1984" is a perfect example of this. The film has what could and should be very intelligent themes, but it seems more interested in its Gothic atmosphere than telling its story.
The film is based on George Orwell's novel and it does an excellent job of capturing the dark mood of the extremely oppressive government where everyone must work "for the common good" and free will and free thinking is not allowed.
The main character is Winston Smith (Hurt), a man who looks like he has been worked to death his entire life. We learn he has a passionate, but silent, hatred for his government. But the only thing Winston can do to fight back is to keep a journal of his thoughts and a constant belief in hope.
The first act is a surrealistic experience. We often go inside the mind of Winston and see encounters so bizarre it is often difficult to tell the dream sequences apart from reality. There isn't much dialogue, so we learn about the setting through Winston's thoughts, which sound so vague and overly written they don't make much sense.
Winston is some sort of record keeper for the government. He "erases" certain people from existence and rewrites history according to the government's demands. There is also a woman who seems to take an interest in him, and the two must use very secretive measures to communicate with each other. Eventually he learns her name is Julia (Hamilton), and they immediately indulge in a secret, but passionate affair. It is implied they love each other even though they have no chemistry and barely know each other.
As easy as it is to understand how oppressive this government is, it doesn't take the time to establish the necessary details which would explain why Winston and Julia must be so secretive. There are two-way television monitors just about everywhere, so to escape the eye of "Big Brother" (who has the voice of a woman) they rent a room in the ghettos of the "Proletarians." The Proletarians are poor people who seem to live in the same place as the masses, yet are not oppressed and no reason for this is given, not even in passing.
The final act aims to be the brilliant political allegory that is the basis of the story, but only scratches the surface. Winston is befriended by a high government official, O'Brien (Burton), who he believes is actually the leader of an underground revolution. But everything falls apart when he and Julia are caught, tortured, and brain-washed. Burton gives a cold, but powerful performance as O'Brien as he speaks of the establishment in ways that should be thought-provoking, but seem little more than fascist/sci-fi moviespeak.
"1984"seems more like a collection of images rather than a straight story. Radford is obviously trying to set up plot and theme through surrealism, but it doesn't work because all the details seem to be implied.
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