Making her first Comic-Con International appearance ever, actress Natalie Portman had a few things to say about her next movie V For Vendetta, based on Alan Moore’s serialized graphic story about a “terrorist” who fights back against a totalitarian British government in the future. Natalie plays Evey, a young woman brought into his violent world when she is saved from a brutal police force, while V is played by Hugo Weaving (“The Matrix,” “The Lord of the Rings”), although you’re not likely to recognize him, since he never takes the mask off, according to Joel Silver.
Ms. Portman had some interesting things to say about the film and its “protagonist”:
Natalie on V’s way of expression his political opinions:
“I don’t know that I have an answer. I think it’s made me think a lot about how we all have our thresholds for what we would allow to justify violence. I think that most people in a room would say that they would commit violence to save a child, but then if you extend that to a leader of our country who feels that all the people in his country are children, and he will commit violence on their behalf to protect them. It just changes, so you can understand that everyone has their own limit for what would cause them to be violent. The main thing I learned from it is that the way we all define and judge and categorize violence is very much from your own perspective. It has to do with whether we agree with the person’s reason or not, and it just changed my opinion about violence. I think overall that it’s pretty bad to cause harm to other human beings.”
Natalie on the similarities to her first movie, Luc Besson’s The Professional:
“Definitely the relationship between V and Evey has the complications of the relationship in that film. There’s moments when it’s father-daughter, there’s moments when it’s lovers and moments when it’s mentor-student, many times all at once. That complication of the relationship is definitely similar, but this is obviously a different film with different filmmakers.”
Natalie on her favorite scene in the film:
“Hugo did some great stuff, like the scene where we dance. The lighter stuff is really sort of beautiful, because you see a completely different side of V. His singing, his dancing…”
Natalie on why fantasy and science fiction appeals to mass audiences:
“I think a fantasy or a fictional world allows you to feel certain things or consider things in a way that you wouldn’t when you’re so tied to reality and circumstances. It allows you to abstract a little bit more, because it doesn’t have consequences for our world. Once you come to those emotions or ideas in a fictional world, then you can bring it back to your own world.”
Natalie on how people might respond to the movie:
“We do our best to make something that people will like, that they’ll be entertained by or provoked by. You can never tell if or how people will respond. I’m really enthusiastic about it and I loved making it, and I’m interested by the story. I think it’s an amazing source in the graphic novel that Alan Moore and David Lloyd created, and I feel lucky to be a part of it. I don’t think you walk away from reading the graphic novel or seeing the film that we made… I mean we’re not telling you to think anything, but I think we’re asking you to ask more questions and to demand answers that there are no answers to. I think it’s ambiguous. It’s not a good hero and a bad establishment that he’s fighting…or you can see it that way. It’s very much shifting perspectives and complicated characters and situations. I think it’s interesting and challenging for a reader or a viewer.”
V for Vendetta opens on November 4.
Source: Edward Douglas
