1984 (1984) Review

 

1984 (1984)

Set in a dystopian future, 1984 follows Winston Smith, a government worker, who challenges thought and the law after he falls in love.

Based on the 1949 novel by George Orwell, the movie, which happened to be made in the same year, is as thought provoking and relevant as ever. Set in a world where Big Brother is always watching, free thought is illegal, and sexual deviance is frond upon, in the fictional country of Oceania. 

When making this film, we get the obvious parallels to Nazi Germany, with the constant warring, propaganda, labor camps, and the totalitarian government that runs everything, it makes for an interesting premise where our main character is set back from his own freedoms and inhibitions, only for him to give them up in the end. Though he wishes for physical death, he reaches a figurative death within himself of who he is. It’s terrifying honestly, but done so well.

The film looks gorgeous, set to the backdrop of a destroyed and rubbled city as the world goes on around it, all while the haunting face of Bob Flag as Big Brother pierces through you at every turn. The late John Hurt once again puts in a magnificent performance that hits such elegant highs as well as destructively sad lows. I felt Suzanna Hamiltons part could have been expanded to better understand Julias character, but she nonetheless did great as well, along with Dennis Hopper lookalike Richard Burton who is insanely good as the manipulative O’Brien.

1984 is less about a dystopian future and more about the time it was created, very clearly meant to emulate the time during and after WW2, which is where this film gets it so right, blurring the lines between the past and what our future could be if we went down a different path. Like I mentioned earlier though, this was a brilliant movie that tugs at the strings of the mind and the heart, putting forth one of the most influential and thought provoking stories of the 21st Century that has certainly made a resurgence in recent years due to the current political climate in our country.

8/10