Screening report on Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" by Farkas Eszter

A Clockwork Orange is Stanley Kubrick's most famous film directed in 1971. The film is based on Anthony Burgess's 1962 novella and is a dystopian crime film by genre. In this screening report, I will examine briefly the narrative and composition of the film generally and on the example of the scene when we first enter into Alex's home and see his room (16:00 - 26:00).

Narrative: The state of equilibrium in this mildly futuristic dystophia is that Alex, a charismatic and handsome young sociopath played by Malcolm McDowell tortures and robs whatever he pleases without any moral boundaries. This is how he and his droogs spend the evenings besides drinking Milk plus dencrom in the Korova bar. Alex is the narrator and protagonist of this movie. He speaks on a partly made-up slang language called “Nadsat”, and addresses the audience often, for example, when he calls himself “your friend and humble narrator” in the third person. The equilibrium is disturbed when Alex is tricked by his “friends”, and sent to prison for 14 years, which only happens after 50 minutes of the movie. Afterwards he is chosen to be a test subject of the new Ludovico technique during which they turn Alex averted seeing violence or sexuality. The slightly different equilibrium at the end is, of course, achieved by Alex becoming the same old him but also a victim of the society, getting a place in it. Therefore, the twist separating this film from most of the others regarding narration is that in the end it is a deceit that Alex goes through a personal development while he stays exactly the same as he was at the beginning. It is his role and appreciation in society that really changes, and that he lost his friends; only him and the audience are able to see his real character.

Composition: Kubrick uses several techniques to reach the absurdness of the film, as fast-forwarding when he invites the two girls up to his room and they have sex, slow motion when they are walking in the marine with his droogs, and unnatural or rare camera stands, for example when during the police investigation we see the policemen from his viewpoint, and in the first scene in the prison the camera is behind the two policemen registering him. Kubrick also uses several techniques to guide the spectator towards the emotions and realizations that he wants us to achieve, he does not leave too much freedom for the audience to look around. However, he leaves plenty of room for the interpretation of the story and the shown images. For example, when we enter Alex’s room for the first time, from object to object, Kubrick uses close-ups to show us what the important things in the room are, as the Beethoven poster, the two drawers one with money and watches and the other with an alive snake in them, and finally, the camera spends half a minute showing tiny fragments of the little grotesque statue depicting four dancing Christs. Moreover, we often see Alex’s inner thoughts as slide shows of pictures, first when he is in his room listening to Symphony 9, we can see a slide of horror (accidents, murders, bombings and deaths) and we can see on his face the joy these images cause to him. Later, in the prison library as he’s reading the Bible, we can see similar images, only in biblical context, and these are moving images. We see Christ suffering and Alex being the Roman soldier hitting him, and also when Alex turns into a rich Roman aristocrat lying among half-naked women slaves.

We also get to know Alex's parents in the home-scene, but from a very absurd viewpoint being mostly Alex's and only fragments from a diegetic point of view that can also be interpreted as something that Alex might hear or see. We also get to know Alex's post-corrective adviser, Mr Deltoid, who is seen from Alex's point of view as a ridiculous and too-intimate shallow person. Right at the end of the scene he gets what he deserves for bothering Alex as he drinks from a glass of water with a dental prosthesis in it.

Music is also a very important part of the movie as it is in Alex's life, it is inseparable from it as it often plays part in the narration itself. The soundtrack reaches a very strong emotional effect in the audience. As Alex’s favorite music is classical music, mostly Beethoven, during the whole movie whenever there is violence (because that is Alex’s other favorite thing), classical music is playing either in the background as intra-terrestrial music, or as extra-terrestrial one. Actually, the two kinds are barely separable, they are mostly raveled. Later on, within the story, Alex is trained to avert violence with music and so loses his two favorite things at once. He often whistles, as well, whenever he is happy, and sings "Singing in the rain", which later also has important role as part of the plot.