n the not-too-distant future, Alex (McDowell) and his gang of three droogs (friends) spend every evening rampaging through the streets of London. Dressed in dark derbies and white outfits, the group prepares for each night of ultraviolence by sipping moloko (drug-enhanced milk) at a local bar and savagely bickering with one another.
On one occasion, following a harrowing ride through the countryside, the four thugs force their way into the home of a writer (Magee) and his wife (Corri) and brutally assault the couple. A few days later they attempt the same sort of break-in at another residence and, although Alex does manage to enter the house and kill the woman living there, his companions turn against him and he's caught by the police.
After two years in prison, Alex is offered the chance to undergo a highly publicized experimental therapy that will eliminate his violent behavior. Following this treatment, the reformed young man is released and returns to his old neighborhood, where he finds that his parents have disowned him and two of his erstwhile buddies have become constables.
After a beating at the hands of these former friends, Alex wanders to a nearby building seeking aid. There he finds the writer, now wheelchair-bound and a widower, that the droogs had attacked years before. Forced to confront the horror of that incident, the author, who personally abhors the procedure that reformed Alex, must determine a means to both exact revenge on the young man and rescue him from his now-docile existence.
An unforgettable experience
Directed by Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey) and based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange is a visually and contemplatively complex work. Over the years the film has generated considerable controversy, yet the questions it raises about the essence of free will and the nature of violence remain as valid today as when the movie debuted in 1971.
McDowell is chilling as Alex, especially as he attacks and prepares to rape the writer's wife while casually crooning "Singin' in the Rain." There is little question that he's a genuinely evil character, yet once he has been altered by the therapy, viewers can clearly see that his joie de vivre--however abhorrent--has been destroyed.
Music also plays an important role in the tale, both through the use of Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony," which accompanies the horrific pictures utilized in the aversion therapy Alex undergoes, and via Kubrick's integration of other classical melodies into particularly intense scenes. These archetypal compositions, especially when juxtaposed with the perverted and depraved actions of the droogs, serve as a powerful reminder of not only the creativity of humanity at its finest, but also the wasted potential of Alex and his gang.
The imagery and dialogue (which features numerous imaginary words) can at times be challenging, but there's a reason why this feature was recently cited as one of America's 100 greatest movies by the American Film Institute. More than a quarter century after it was released, A Clockwork Orange remains an incredibly intelligent and wholly unforgettable experience.
