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What is the plot?
London, late at night on November 4th, in a near-future Britain shrouded by darkness and fear. The city is suffocated by curfew, the air thick with the threat of Norsefire's secret police--the Fingermen--who patrol the streets with unchecked brutality. On this night, Evey Hammond, a young woman whose parents died resisting the regime, slips out of her apartment, her heart pounding as she navigates the deserted city. She clutches her coat tighter, every shadow a potential threat.
As Evey rounds a corner, she is accosted by three Fingermen, their intentions clear and predatory. Their leader sneers, "You know what we do to traitors, don't you?" Terror seizes Evey as they close in, but before they can harm her, a cloaked figure emerges from the darkness. He wears a porcelain Guy Fawkes mask, a wide-brimmed hat, and a cape that billows as he moves with balletic precision. With a flourish, he dispatches the Fingermen, his knives flashing in the lamplight, his movements elegant and deadly. The masked man helps Evey to her feet, introducing himself with theatrical grandeur: "Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate..." His voice is rich, his words poetic, and Evey, though shaken, is transfixed.
He leads her atop a nearby roof as midnight approaches. The city's silence is shattered by the swelling strains of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." Below, the historic Old Bailey courthouse erupts in a cascade of fireworks and flame, its dome crumbling in a spectacular explosion. The masked man stands beside Evey, arms spread wide, and recites, "Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot…" The act is both a declaration of war and a call to memory--a warning that the past will not be forgotten.
As dawn breaks on November 5th, the regime scrambles to control the narrative. Adam Sutler, the High Chancellor, appears on massive screens, his face cold and severe. He barks orders at his inner circle--Peter Creedy, head of the secret police; Lewis Prothero, the bombastic "Voice of London"; and Eric Finch, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard. Sutler's voice is iron: "Find this terrorist. Find him and destroy him."
Meanwhile, the masked vigilante--known only as V--slips into the British Television Network (BTN) Studios. He disables the guards and hijacks the airwaves, broadcasting his manifesto to the nation. His image fills every screen: "Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine…" He calls on the people to rise up, to meet him outside Parliament one year from tonight. As police storm the studio, Evey, working as a runner, recognizes V and helps him escape, but is knocked unconscious in the chaos. V carries her away, knowing the regime will hunt her for aiding him.
Evey awakens in the Shadow Gallery, V's secret lair buried beneath the city. The space is a sanctuary of forbidden art, music, and literature--remnants of a world erased by Norsefire's censorship. V tells Evey she must remain hidden for her own safety. She is both a guest and a prisoner, caught between gratitude and fear.
The regime's retaliation is swift. Sutler's circle convenes in a sterile, shadowy chamber, the Chancellor's face looming over them on a giant screen. "Our enemy is an insidious one," Sutler intones, his eyes burning with fanaticism. He demands results, his rage simmering beneath the surface.
V begins his campaign of vengeance, targeting those who built Norsefire's machinery of oppression. His first victim is Lewis Prothero, who basks in luxury as he prepares for his nightly broadcast. Prothero steps into his shower, steam swirling around him, when V appears, his mask gleaming. V confronts Prothero with his past crimes at Larkhill Detention Facility, where Prothero oversaw the torture and murder of innocents. V burns Prothero's beloved doll collection, driving him to madness before killing him. Prothero's body is found, and Finch is assigned to investigate, the threads of conspiracy beginning to unravel.
V's next target is Bishop Anthony Lilliman, a corrupt, lecherous priest who preyed on the vulnerable at Larkhill. V enlists Evey's reluctant help, sending her to Lilliman's opulent residence disguised as a child prostitute. Lilliman, repulsive in his hypocrisy, attempts to abuse her, but V intervenes. He forces the bishop to consume a poisoned communion wafer. Lilliman chokes and dies, his sins laid bare in his final moments. Evey, traumatized and afraid, flees the scene, seeking forgiveness from Norsefire but finding only more danger.
Desperate and alone, Evey turns to Gordon Deitrich, her boss and a popular TV host. Gordon welcomes her into his home, revealing his secret collection of banned artifacts: subversive paintings, an antique Quran, and photographs celebrating forbidden love. "You see, Evey, I play the part of a womanizer," Gordon confides, "because if they knew the truth, I'd be taken away." Inspired by Evey's courage and V's defiance, Gordon stages a satirical sketch mocking Sutler on his show. The regime's response is brutal. That night, Fingermen storm Gordon's apartment, arresting him and Evey. Gordon is executed for his subversion and for being gay--one more victim of Norsefire's hatred.
Evey awakens in a cold, windowless cell. She is interrogated, her head shaved, her spirit battered by days of isolation and torture. Her captors demand she betray V, threatening her with death. In the darkness, Evey finds a note hidden in a crack in her cell wall--a letter from Valerie Page, a former Larkhill prisoner. Valerie's story unfolds in delicate handwriting: her childhood, her love for another woman, her arrest and suffering at the hands of Norsefire, and her refusal to let them take away her integrity. "I shall die here," Valerie writes, "every inch of me shall perish. Except one. An inch. It is small and fragile, and it is the only thing in the world worth having." Valerie's words kindle a fire in Evey's heart. When her captors threaten her with execution, Evey refuses to betray V. "You have nothing left, Miss Hammond," the interrogator snarls. Evey, tears streaming down her face, whispers, "Then I have no fear anymore."
Suddenly, the cell door opens. Evey stumbles out, blinking into the light, and finds herself not in a prison but in the Shadow Gallery. V stands before her, unmasked but in shadow. He confesses: he orchestrated her imprisonment, subjecting her to the ordeal to free her from fear. Evey is furious, devastated by the betrayal, but V pleads for understanding. "I did it for you, Evey. For Valerie. For all of us who have suffered." Evey, shaken to her core, leaves the Gallery, vowing to return before November 5th.
Meanwhile, Finch's investigation leads him to Dr. Delia Surridge, Larkhill's former chief medical examiner. Finch confronts her in her apartment, but V arrives first. Surridge, wracked with guilt, confesses her role in the regime's atrocities--how she experimented on prisoners, how so many died. "I'm sorry," she whispers to V, tears glistening in her eyes. V, gentle in this moment, administers a lethal injection. "I killed you ten minutes ago," he tells her softly. Surridge dies peacefully, the weight of her sins lifted in her final breath.
Finch presses on, piecing together the truth from Surridge's diary and a clandestine meeting with "William Rookwood" (V in disguise). He uncovers the regime's darkest secret: two decades earlier, Norsefire orchestrated a series of bioterror attacks--at St. Mary's Primary School, Three Waters, and a water treatment plant--releasing a deadly virus and blaming it on terrorists. The resulting panic allowed Norsefire to seize power. The regime's leaders, including Sutler, Creedy, Prothero, and Lilliman, profited from the cure, consolidating their control as Britain descended into fear and fascism. The experiments at Larkhill, led by Surridge, created the virus and tested it on prisoners. Only one subject survived--his body ravaged but his mind unbroken. He destroyed Larkhill in a fiery escape, becoming the man known as V.
As the year passes, V's legend grows. He floods the country with Guy Fawkes masks, distributing them to the masses. Anonymous chaos erupts as masked citizens defy the regime, their numbers swelling after the secret police gun down a young girl wearing the mask. The city teeters on the edge of revolution.
On the eve of November 5th, V invites Evey back to the Shadow Gallery. The lair is filled with the warmth of candlelight and the soft strains of music. V and Evey share a dance, a moment of tenderness amidst the storm. "I wish I could stay," Evey confesses, her voice trembling. V leads her into the depths of the London Underground, revealing a train he has spent years restoring. The train is packed with explosives, its destination: the Houses of Parliament. V tells Evey the choice is now hers. "This world, Evey, belongs to you as much as it does to me." He pleads with her to run away with him, but she knows he cannot abandon his crusade.
Meanwhile, V sets his final plan in motion. He approaches Peter Creedy, offering him a deal: deliver Sutler to him, and V will surrender. Creedy, hungry for power, agrees. That night, in a dank, abandoned tunnel beneath the city, Creedy and his men drag Adam Sutler before V. Sutler, trembling with rage and fear, spits, "You're nothing but a shadow!" Creedy, cold and calculating, turns his gun on Sutler and shoots him in the head, ending the High Chancellor's reign with a single, echoing shot.
Creedy then turns to V, gun raised. "Take off your mask," he demands. V stands tall, blood already staining his chest from gunshots. "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh," V intones, voice unwavering. "Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof." Creedy fires again and again, bullets tearing into V's body. V staggers, but does not fall. With a final surge of strength, he draws his knives and descends upon Creedy and his men. The tunnel is a blur of steel and blood. V moves with inhuman speed, slaying every Fingerman in a storm of violence. Creedy is the last to die, V's blade finding his throat. The regime's head is severed in the darkness.
Mortally wounded, V stumbles back to the Shadow Gallery. Evey finds him slumped against the jukebox, blood pooling beneath him. He confesses his love for her, his voice soft and fading. "I love you, Evey. With all my heart." She cradles him as he dies, tears streaming down her face.
Evey, grief-stricken but resolute, places V's body upon the train, arranging his cloak and mask with reverence. As she prepares to send the train toward Parliament, Inspector Eric Finch arrives, gun drawn. He sees the pain in Evey's eyes, the conviction in her stance. She pleads with him: "He gave me everything. He showed me that there was no reason to be afraid." Finch, disillusioned by all he has learned, lowers his weapon. "Go," he says quietly. Evey pulls the lever, and the train rumbles down the tracks, carrying V and his dream toward destiny.
Above ground, the city awakens to the sound of marching feet. Thousands of citizens, all wearing Guy Fawkes masks, flood Parliament Square. The military, leaderless and confused, stands aside as the crowd advances. The train explodes beneath Parliament, sending fire and debris into the night sky. The ancient seat of power crumbles, its destruction witnessed by a sea of masked faces--men, women, children, all united in silent defiance.
As the dust settles, Finch turns to Evey, his voice trembling with awe. "Who was he?" he asks. Evey gazes at the burning ruins, the dawn breaking over a new world. "He was all of us," she replies, her words echoing through the crowd.
The regime is toppled. The people reclaim their power. And amid the ashes, hope is reborn, carried on the wind like the promise of freedom.
What is the ending?
We don't know.
Is there a post-credit scene?
In the movie "V for Vendetta," produced in 2006, there is no post-credit scene. The film concludes with a powerful climax as V's plan unfolds, leading to the destruction of the Parliament building in London. The final moments show Evey Hammond, having embraced V's ideals, standing amidst the falling debris of the iconic structure, symbolizing the end of the oppressive regime and the beginning of a new era. The credits roll after this impactful scene, leaving the audience with the weight of the story's themes and the transformation of Evey.
What is the significance of V's mask and why does he wear it?
V wears a Guy Fawkes mask, which symbolizes his rebellion against the oppressive government. The mask represents anonymity and the idea that the message of freedom and resistance is more important than the individual behind it. Throughout the film, V uses the mask to conceal his identity while embodying the spirit of revolution.
How does Evey Hammond's character develop throughout the film?
Evey Hammond starts as a frightened young woman living under a totalitarian regime. After her encounter with V, she undergoes significant transformation. Initially, she is hesitant and fearful, but as she becomes more involved with V's plans and experiences the harsh realities of the regime, she grows into a strong, independent individual who ultimately embraces the ideals of freedom and resistance.
What role does the character of Inspector Finch play in the story?
Inspector Finch is a key character who represents the law enforcement side of the oppressive government. As the story progresses, he becomes increasingly conflicted about his role in the regime. He investigates V's actions and begins to question the morality of the government's practices, ultimately leading him to a point of moral reckoning.
What is the significance of the 'V for Vendetta' speech and its impact on the characters?
The 'V for Vendetta' speech is a pivotal moment in the film where V articulates his philosophy and the reasons behind his actions. It serves as a rallying cry for the oppressed citizens of London. The speech not only inspires Evey and others to rise against the government but also encapsulates V's motivations and the themes of resistance and justice.
How does the relationship between V and Evey evolve throughout the film?
The relationship between V and Evey evolves from one of captor and captive to a deep bond based on shared ideals and mutual respect. Initially, Evey is terrified of V, but as she learns more about his past and his motivations, she begins to understand and appreciate his fight against tyranny. Their relationship becomes a partnership in the struggle for freedom, culminating in Evey's transformation into a figure of resistance herself.
Is this family friendly?
We don't know. V for Vendetta contains themes of violence, political turmoil, and moral ambiguity, which may not be suitable for children. It includes scenes of explosions, confrontations, and discussions around oppressive regimes that could be upsetting for sensitive viewers. Additionally, it contains strong language and references to torture and death. Viewer discretion is advised.
Does the dog die?
No, there is no dog that dies in the movie V for Vendetta.