1984 Movie Review

1984 [Nineteen Eighty-Four] (1984)

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Written by: Michael Radford, George Orwell (novel)
Directed by: Michael Radford
Starring: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton
Rated: R
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Plot
In a totalitarian future society, a man, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.

Verdict
This presents a rather bleak world. Any joy is fleeting, and even then it's going to be caught and punished. While most movies present a protagonist that will fight the overbearing antagonists, there's none of that here. Things are bad, and hope is misplaced. I like the ideas presented in this more than the movie. There's a lot to discuss, but the movie feels a bit hollow. That's probably by design as this shows how easily a totalitarian regime can remain in power once it has a foothold.
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Review
I read the book long ago, I believe it was required reading for school. It's certainly a book that has stuck with me.

Winston (John Hurt) lives a life of utter captivity. He's always watched, always constrained as "Big Brother" is always watching. Winston's job is to rewrite history so that it can be right at all times. That seems a bit redundant as I doubt the government lets anyone read anything not pre-approved, but this regime wants to maintain an illusion of freedom by rewriting everything and then maintaining the lie. There's certainly a stark difference between what we hear on the news and what we see in Winston's life.

Winston lives in squalor. Desperation pervades his life, and even the dull color gray pervades. His world is concrete and drab skies, dull colors. This creates a contrast when he's with Julia (Suzanna Hamilton). They maintain a forbidden romance because anything sensual and passionate is banned. The government was to eradicate thinking, creating mindless drones. Part of the excitement is that he relationship is forbidden, it's a source of excitement in a world that wants to nullify emotions.

Suzanna Hamilton and John Hurt play Julia and Winston

So many visions of a future dystopia see a hero fighting the controlling powers or rebelling. In this the protagonist is constrained, unable to fight back in a meaningful way. What he does, is for himself. You can't blame him for being selfish.

It turns out that there are no dark corners where one can hide from the government. Winston and Julia were never as free as they imagined. The government plans to fix Winston by breaking him mentally. At first I wondered why the regime doesn't kill dissidents, but that gives rise to people wanting to avenger murders and fight back. This government wants to enslave. In the end Winston is an empty shell, devoid of any emotion or passion.

This doesn't show how the government first took power, but actual history provides examples. The books has become a pop culture touchstone. It's remained relevant since it's release as there are always leaders out for power.