Top 100 Challenge #70: A Clockwork Orange

It's a little bit harder to say how I feel about this one, readers.  Here is a movie from the top 100 list that I had heard of, but never seen before.  However, it is pretty well-known, so maybe some of you have seen it, and will know what I mean.

After consideration--a lot of consideration--I think I would award this movie a grade of:  B-.

The opening half hour or so of this movie is just what the blurb on the back of the sleeve promises:  it depicts the main character Alex and his friends committing all kinds of crimes, ranging from petty ones all the way up to murder.  I guess what I had underestimated was just how large of a role the casual use of images exploiting females would play in these opening scenes.  There were some settings, actions, and dialogue in this portion of the film that bordered on obscene.

Why then am I even giving it a B-?  Because the movie got better as it went.  I ended the movie unsure of how to feel, but upon further reflection, I realize that was the point.  Throughout the film, we get to see many different sides of our narrator, Alex.  When he IS being himself, he is a felon and it is terrible.  When he is not acting like himself, he is pathetic, and viewers feel sorry for him.  After much thought, I realized that this is probably the point the director is trying to make:  there really is no right way to feel about Alex.

It took a lot of work to understand what the director was trying to do here, however, which is why, although I found the movie okay, I'm not so sure this one deserves to be on the top 100 list.  Even if it does, it certainly doesn't beat some of the others we have seen, like Shawshank, Modern Times, or 12 Angry Men.  However, as it is still considered a landmark piece of cinema, and has some interesting moments despite its disturbing ones, it may still be one to put on your "to-see" list--at least if you ever have extra time.

Sincerely,
Sarah :)