V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Allan Moore. It is a story full of comedy with V as the protagonist who is out to fight and destroy the government and affects innocent people. The novel was later adapted into a film and directed by James McTeigue and written by Wachowski Brothers.
The graphic novel was set in 1990’s during the time where the world had suffered from a nuclear war and everything was left destroyed. The film was in 2020 and there was nowhere we are told that there was a nuclear war but there was a revolution against fascist government. This contrasts the book and the film. In addition, Lewis Prothero was known as The Voice of Fate on his radio show in the novel while in the film, he was known as The Voice of London but on a TV show.
V for Vendetta is a perfect example of multi-modal adaptation whereby there are many evident differences that can be compared and contrasted from the book to the film. The characters in novel went through major changes in the film for example Evey and V. Evey’s character changes from the novel to the film. The main difference between the book version and the film version for V for Vendetta is Evey’s character. There is a very big difference between the two characters. The first contrast is Evey’s social situation. In the film version, she is a well off employee of the broadcast company meaning she has a social class in the film. Comparably, in the graphic novel version, Evey is a young orphaned girl faced with poverty that struggled to make ends meet and ended up being a prostitute which shows two different characters. Evey’s employment in the film is a very important contrast of her character in the book and the film. In the book, she struggles as a factory worker whose payment was not enough and she needed to do something in order to get extra money and this led her into prostitution. Her actual job in the film is not clearly stated but she worked with the British Cable Network and there is nowhere she had financial problems and is forced to turn to prostitution.
The second difference of this character in the film and in the book is that in the film version, she was far less believable as a real character compared to the book version. Her actions in the film did not make sense at all and she never acted as a real person. She was very different in the film and the book and the difference altered who she was and made her a different character in the versions. In the book, she was easily seduced by V after he abducted her and it took her very long to believe in V’s revolution. In contrast in the film, she was very sure that V was the person she wanted. It only took her three days to buy V’s ideas and yet he was a government subject who had kidnapped her. Evey was employed and meaning she was someone literate and it is abnormal for her to follow everything V tells her. If it were in her situation in the book whereby she was a prostitute who needed some extra cash, her actions could be understood. Therefore, her actions in the film were far less believable compared to the book whereby one can justify her prostitution for financial problems. Evey varied in two ways, her actions and decisions and her job and this changed her character completely from what was in the book and what was adapted to the film.
In addition, V’s character was changed in the film. The graphic novel features a protagonist who is rigid and inhuman. In the book, V was characterized as ruthless and very willing to kill anyone who got in his way. V says “People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people” (Moore 58). V was depicted as cold, inhuman and he assumed to be bigger than his own humanity. He was never emotional while interacting with Evey but anything he did showed his rage and resentment. For instance this can be seen when he talks to statues before blowing them up as he says "So you stand at last. You are no longer my justice. You are his justice now. You have bedded another"(Moore 67). Comparably, in the film, there is a more charismatic protagonist. V is portrayed as romantic and a freedom fighter that shows a lot of concern over the loss of innocent life. He cooked Evey’s breakfast and watches film with her and had an intimate relationship with Evey. He is even portrayed as working very hard to better his relationship with Evey which is contrasting his character from the novel (Keller 43). This is contrary of what he was in the graphic novel because he killed without caring about innocent lives.
V and Evey’s relationship was also different in the graphic novel and the film. In the novel, their relationship ended up with the pledge of love between them at the end of the book whereas at the end of the film, Evey carried out all V’s plan and in addition she took his identity in order to fulfill what V had started. Another character whose character was changed was Inspector Finch. In the film, he sympathized with V whereas in the novel he was more than determined to stop V’s plan and he even went ahead taking LSD in order to enter into V’s state of mind. He managed to kill V in the film.
In the graphic novel V for Vendetta and the Film V for Vendetta, there are apparent changes in the characterization. The characters in the film are portrayed differently in the novel and in the film.
Works Cited
Moore, Steve, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Alan Moore, and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta: A Novelization. New York: Pocket Star Books, 2006. Print.
Keller, James R. V for vendetta as cultural pastiche: a critical study of the graphic novel and film. NJ: McFarland Publishers, 2008. Print.
Moore, Alan. V for Vendetta. New York: Simon & Schuster Publishers, 2006. Print.
