Review of A Clockwork Orange

Pertinent, propulsive and controversial, Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" was infamously banned upon its initial release, perhaps unfairly so, although such notoriety inevitably led to it languishing in obscurity for decades until critical reappraisal saw it being recognised as an overlooked, maligned work of art. Elevated in mainstream popularity by cultists and film buffs alike, "A Clockwork Orange" eventually found its audience, however, as with most of Kubrick's definitive oeuvre, turgid analysis of its themes, facets, layers and ideas ensure that it remains one of his most powerful, thought-provoking and divisive compositions, asserting that we are all cogs in a vast, inscrutable, mercenary machine.
Kubrick's prescient, visionary adaptation of Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel employs atmospheric, disturbing imagery to conjure an immersive near-dystopian future so vividly mesmeric and cogent, if not so starkly devised, realised and photographed, could be perceived as paradoxically artistic in its hyper-realistic, nightmarish conceit of a society devoid of morality and compassion, as reflected in the film's economical, barren-looking housing estates. Aesthetics aside, Kubrick's satirical, obscure dissection of society's polarising, equally damaging political forces - socialism and fascism - underpin the film's visual language, from the anarchism of the first section to the authoritarianism of the last act. Despite retaining a sharp, witty verve that tempers every scene, the final half of the film enters terrifying expanse with its bleak, uncompromising exploration of a standalone arena whereby the clinical removal of free will is a means to an end in an austere, cold environment. Steadfastly skewering the political and social landscape from a 1970s perspective, Kubrick's disillusioned viewpoint of British society is eerily accurate; the Russian-inflected depiction of gang culture, replete with teenage slang and violent, territorial displays of disenfranchisement and sheer hedonism, leads to the posing of moralistic questions in the form of an experimental brainwashing technique utilised by the new government to combat mass crime, high prison rates, recidivism and reform the overwhelming delinquent youth subculture.
"A Clockwork Orange" ends on a decidedly dark note in its investigation of the concept of behaviourism, with the blackly comic, foreboding final scene adding to the film's pervasive, surreal mood and unsettling symbolism, but Kubrick's forensically detailed yet hypnotically artful production design weds the didactic themes at its core to achieve a singular perception of an apathetic world that evokes a dream-like sense of uncertainty and ambiguity upon each viewing. It is a testament to Kubrick's genius that the film has supplanted the novel it was based on, in the same way that "The Shining" is not a byproduct of its source, but a superior, code-laden work. Concerning the definitive auteurist entries in Kubrick's filmography, one must view them as individual conceptualisations, even if some are more categorical in their thematic intent than others. "A Clockwork Orange" is the most vicious, politically charged of Kubrick's exemplary cinematic output, a somewhat veiled - owing to the intense, arresting set design and chillingly effective performances - indictment of society's totalitarian response to barbarism being just as brutal and thoughtless as the criminals.