1984: A Review

1984

The term "1984" has been bandied about for a few years now. The Right and the Left have adopted the George Orwell novel to describe what their political opponents would do if in power. The temptation to release a film adaptation of Orwell's 1984 in 1984 was probably too great to resist. 1984 has excellent performances, including a farewell from one of best actors never to reach his full potential.

60796 Citizen Winston Smith (John Hurt) lives in Oceania, which he and his fellow citizens are told is a paradise of plenty. This bucolic world is in sharp contrast to what they are told about their arch-nemesis, Eurasia, which they have been at war since time immemorial. Smith's job at the Ministry of Information is to alter history, take heroes and make them villains and vice versa when needed. All citizens of Oceania are united against their great enemy within, Goldstein, who is lurking under every bed.

Smith, unlike the other citizens, is secretly not content. He has memories of a world different from Oceania, with a mother and brother. He records his unauthorized thoughts in a secret diary, doing his best to keep out of sight of the omnipresent ruler of Oceani, Big Brother. He also meets the alluring Julia (Suzanna Hamilton). She is outwardly compliant to Big Brother's commands, but she in her manner has a mind of her own. Soon, they begin a passionate affair of body and mind.

However, Big Brother is watching you. Their affair is unmasked, and Smith must answer to the apparatchik O'Brien (Richard Burton), who has fooled Smith into thinking that he was also not with Big Brother. O'Brien coldly and cruelly tortures Smith to eventually confess on himself. What horrors does Room 101, deep within the Ministry of Love, hold for Smith and Julia? Will Smith be rehabilitated to O'Brien and Big Brother's satisfaction? 

I have yet to read Orwell's novel, so I cannot say how close or far it strays from the original. I think, however, that those who watch 1984 will get a firm idea of the mad world that Smith lives through. The world of 1984, at least to me, reminded me of what North Korea and Hamas are. Like Oceania, the North Korean dictatorship has tabs on all of its citizen. They have also convinced the North Korean people that they are living in a land of plenty, safe from the horrors outside. Like Hamas, it brooks no dissent and worships endless war.

We also sadly see 1984 reflected in our world. "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words," someone says. I cannot help but think of how terminology is used, misused and abused today. We also have lived through effort to if not change at least focus to other aspects of history. The story of 1984, at least from this film, is still very much a real one.

This sense of dystopian despair is enhanced by the work in front and behind the camera. John Hurt has this great, haunted quality that makes Smith's need for freedom and eventual collapse. Hurt makes Smith into someone who knows something is off but cannot fully free himself. He changes history. He knows he is changing history. He is aware that razor and candy production has not gone up, even if everyone around him truly believes it. 

Hurt is our guide through this world, and he gives an excellent performance. The same goes for Suzanna Hamilton as Julia, the woman who sparks his mind and his body.  

The best performance in 1984 is probably the least expected on. I do not think that Richard Burton was a bad actor. He, however, seemed lost in a fog of self-parody, expecting his shouting to be thought of as great acting. Here, writer/director Michael Radford did something that no director before had managed: get Richard Burton to tone things down. 

Burton had a distinct, rich voice which he used to great effect. At times though, Burton's voice made his performances at times bordering on unhinged. Sometimes he could go so over-the-top that he came across as literally crazed. In 1984, however, he spoke calmly and more surprisingly softly. O'Brien is not a raging, angry man. He is eerily calm. That is what makes him more terrifying. 1984 is wise to keep Burton hidden early on. I think it is close to half an hour into the film before we see even a bit of him, almost 40 minutes before we hear his voice.

In an ironic twist, Burton did so well because he went against what he normally did. This was a very controlled performance. As such, we got to see O'Brien, this soft-mannered monster. Burton did not have to go off to show that he could hold your attention.

1984 is also enhanced by the production elements. The cinematography captured this seemingly empty and dour world with only occasional moments of greenery. The art direction too gets that this is a world coming apart, the population simultaneously lying to itself and being lied to.

Again, I cannot verify how accurate this 1984 adaptation is. However, I think that as a film, 1984 is a strong one. It is visually arresting, with strong performances and a story that is still sadly relevant to how things are today. Julia, I believe, says "It's not so much staying alive as staying human that's important". Those are very true words, perhaps truer than ever. Whatever one's political leanings, it might be wise to take heed of the warnings within 1984. 

DECISION: B+