This movie was really interesting to watch especially when I realised that the main star of the movie was Hugo Weaving who plays the role of V (Yes, the same person who has become popular because of the roles of Agent Smith in Matrix Trilogy and also as Elven king Elrond in Lord of the Rings Trilogy). Hugo Weaving has done an awesome job in delivering the dialogues as you will never get to see his face throughout the movie. The other characters are Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), Finch (Stephen Rea), Deitrich (Stephen Fry), Adam Sutler (John Hurt), Creedy (Tim Pigott-Smith), Dominic (Rupert Graves), Delia Surridge (Sinéad Cusack), Valerie (Natasha Wightman). This 2 hour and 12 minutes movie has a good amount of action sequences and a good amount of Dialogues. The following are the quotes of the movie in order of appearance.
Evey Hammond: [Voiceover] Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot... But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes and I know, in 1605, he attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. But who was he really? What was he like? We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world. I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love... And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man... A man that made me remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget.
[V interrupts the 3 fingermen who were about to rape Evey]
[Quoting from Macbeth Act I Scene 2]
V: The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him.
Finger men: What the hell?
[Quoting from Macbeth Act I Scene 2 skiping 4 lines]
V: disdaining fortune/with his brandish'd steel, which smoked with bloody execution...?
[Quoting Polonius from Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1]
V: We are oft to blame in this, - / 'Tis too much proved - that with devotion's visage/ And pious action we do sugar o'er/ The devil himself.
V: [Evey pulls out her mace] I can assure you I mean you no harm.
Evey: Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey: Well I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation. I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man, who he is.
Evey: Oh. Right.
V: But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona.
V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.
Evey: Are you like a crazy person?
V: I am quite sure they will say so. But, to whom might I ask am I speaking?
Evey: I'm Evey.
V: Evey? E-V. Of course you are.
Evey: What does that mean?
V: It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and I don't believe in coincidences.
[after V leads Evey up to an empty rooftop, promising her an orchestra]
Evey: It's beautiful up here.
V: A more perfect stage could not be asked for.
Evey: I don't see any instruments.
V: Your powers of observation continue to serve you well. But wait, It is to Madame Justice that I dedicate this concerto. in honour of the holiday she seems to have taken from these parts and in recognition of the imposter that stands in her stead. Tell me, do you know what day it is, Evey?
Evey: Um, November the 4th.
V: [midnight church bells ring] Not any more. Remember, remember the 5th of November. The gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot. First the overture, yes, yes, the strings, listen carefully, can you hear it, now the brass.
Evey: I can hear it. How did you do that?
V: Wait! Here comes the crescendo!
[explosion and fireworks go off]
V: Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquillity of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot.
[Trying to Defuse the bomb placed on the control in Jordan Tower]
Dascomb: Do you have any idea how long it would take to rebuild this facility?
Finch: Do you have any idea what you're doing?
Evey: You scared me.
V: My apologies. You feeling alright?
Evey: Yes, thank you. What is this place?
V: This is my home. I call it the Shadow Gallery.
Evey: It's beautiful. Where did you get all this stuff?
V: Oh, here and there, much of it from the vaults of the Ministry of Objectionable Materials.
Evey: You stole them?
V: Oh, heavens, no. Stealing implies ownership. You can't steal from the censor; I merely reclaimed them.
Evey: God, if they ever find this place...
V: I suspect if they do find this place, a few bits of art will be the least of my worries.
Evey: [takes a bite of the breakfast V cooked] It's delicious! God, I haven't had real butter since I was a little girl! Where did you get it?
V: A government supply train on its way to Chancellor Sutler.
Evey: You stole this from Chancellor Sutler?
V: Yes.
Evey: You're insane!
V: [Quoting Macbeth from Macbeth Act I Scene 7] I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none.
Evey: Can I ask about what you said on the tele?
V: Yes.
Evey: Did you mean it?
V: Every word.
Evey: You really think that blowing up Parliament is going to make this country a better place.
V: There's no certainty, only opportunity.
Evey: Well, I think you can be certain if anyone does show up, Creedy will black bag every one of them.
V: People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.
Evey: And you are going to make that happen by blowing up a building.
V: The building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. Alone a symbol is meaningless, but with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world.
Evey: [watching a news report about Prothero's death] V, yesterday I couldn't find my ID. You didn't take it, did you?
V: Would you prefer a lie or the truth?
Evey: Did you have anything to do with... that?
V: Yes, I killed him.
Evey: You...? Oh god.
V: You're upset.
Evey: I'm upset? You just said you killed Lewis Prothero!
V: I might have killed the fingerman that attacked you, but I heard no objection then.
Evey: What?
V: Violence can be used for good.
Evey: What are you talking about?
V: Justice.
Evey: Oh. I see.
V: There is no court in this country for men like Prothero.
Evey: Are you going to kill more people?
V: Yes.
Evey: [reads] Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.
V: [translates] By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.
Evey: Personal motto?
V: From "Faust".
Evey: That's about trying to cheat the devil, isn't it?
V: It is.
[When killing the Reverend/Bishop][quoting Shakespeare's Richard III, Act I Scene 3]
V: And thus I clothe my naked villainy / With old odd ends stolen forth from holy writ/And seem a saint when most I play the devil.
Gordon Deitrich: You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.
[Delia Surridge gets up from sleep sensing V in the room]
Delia: It's you, isn't it? You have come to kill me?
V: Yes.
Delia: Thank God.
[Returning back to Delia Bedroom]
Delia: After what happened, after what they did, I thought about killing myself. I knew that one day you would come for me. I didn't know what they were going to do. I swear to you. Read my journal.
V: What they did was only possible because of you.
Delia: Oppenheimer was able to change more than the course of a war. He changed the entire course of human history. Is it wrong to hold on to that kind of hope?
V: I have not come for what you hoped to do. I've come for what you did.
Delia: It's funny, I was given one of your roses today. I wasn't sure you were the terrorist until I saw it. What a strange coincidence that I should be given one today.
V: There are no coincidences, Delia. only the illusion of coincidence. I have another rose and this one is for you.
Delia: [V gives her a rose] You going to kill me now?
V: I killed you 10 minutes ago
[shows her hypodermic needle]
V: While you slept.
Delia: Is there any pain?
V: No.
Delia: Thank you. Is it meaningless to apologize?
V: Never.
Delia: I'm so sorry.
[Delia dies]
[Finch reads through Delia's Journal]
Delia: November the 5th. It started last night, around midnight. The first explosion which tore open the entire medical section. All my work... gone. I was trying to understand how it could have happened then I saw him, the man from Room 5. He looked at me, not with eyes, there were no eyes. But I know he was looking at me because I felt it. Oh God, What have I done.
Evey: What is that you're making?
Gordon Deitrich: We call it "eggie in the basket". My mum used to make them.
Evey: This is weird.
Gordon: What?
Evey: The first morning I was with him, he made me eggs just like this.
Gordon: Really?
Evey: I swear.
Gordon: That is a strange coincidence. Although, there's an obvious explanation.
Evey: There is?
Gordon: Yes, Evey. I am V. At last you know the truth. You're stunned, I know. It's hard to believe isn't it, that beneath this wrinkled, well-fed exterior there lies a dangerous killing machine with a fetish for Fawkesian masks. Viva la revolution!
Evey: That is NOT funny, Gordon.
Gordon: [sighs] Yeah, I know. I'm useless without a studio audience.
Interrogator: Do you know why you're here, Evey Hammond?
Evey: No please...
Interrogator: You've been formally charged with three counts of murder, the bombing of government property, conspiracy to commit terrorism, treason, and sedition. The penalty for which is death by firing squad. You have one chance and only one chance to save your life. You must tell us the identity or whereabouts of codename V. If your information leads to his capture, you will be released from this facility immediately. Do you understand what I'm telling you? You can return to your life, Miss Hammond. All you have to do is cooperate. [pauses] Process her.
Valerie: I know there's no way I can convince you this is not one of their tricks, but I don't care. I am me. My name is Valerie. I don't think I'll live much longer, and I wanted to tell someone about my life. This is the only autobiography that I will ever write and God, I'm writing it on toilet paper. I was born in Nottingham in 1985. I don't remember much of those early years, but I do remember the rain. My grandmother owned a farm in Tottle Brook and she used to tell me that God was in the rain. I passed my 11 Plus and went to girls' grammar. It was at school that I met my first girlfriend. Her name was Sarah. It was her wrists. They were beautiful. I thought we would love each other forever. I remember our teacher telling us that it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Sarah did. I didn't. In 2002, I fell in love with a girl named Christina. That year I came out to my parents. I couldn't have done it without Chris holding my hand. My father wouldn't look at me. He told me to go and never come back. My mother said nothing. But I'd only told them the truth. Was that so selfish? Our integrity sells for so little, but it is all we really have. It is the very last inch of us. But within that inch we are free. I'd always known what I wanted to do with my life and in 2015 I starred in my first film, The Salt Flats. It was the most important role of my life. Not because of my career, but because that was how I met Ruth. The first time we kissed I knew I never wanted to kiss any other lips but hers again. We moved to a small flat in London together. She grew Scarlet Carsons for me in our window box and our place always smelt of roses. Those were the best years of my life. But America's war grew worse and worse and eventually it came to London. After that there were no roses any more. Not for anyone. I remember how the meaning of words began to change. How unfamiliar words like "collateral" and "rendition" became frightening, while things like Norsefire and the Articles of Allegiance became powerful. I remember how "different" became dangerous. I still don't understand it, why they hate us so much. They took Ruth while she was out buying food. I've never cried so hard in my life. It wasn't long till they came for me. It seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I had roses and apologized to no one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish. Every inch, but one. An inch. It is small and it is fragile and it is the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it or give it away. We must NEVER let them take it from us. I hope that whoever you are, you escape this place. I hope that the worlds turns, and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you, I love you. With all my heart, I love you.
Interrogator: I am instructed to inform you that you have been convicted by special tribunal and that unless you are ready to offer your cooperation you are to be executed. Do you understand what I'm telling you?
Evey: Yes.
Interrogator: Are you ready to cooperate?
Evey: No.
Interrogator: Very well. Escort Ms. Hammond back to her cell. Arrange a detail of six men and take her out behind the chemical shed and shoot her.
Guard: It's time.
Evey: I'm ready.
Guard: Look all they want is one little piece of information, just give them something, anything.
Evey: Thank you, but I'd rather die behind the chemical sheds.
Guard: Then you have no fear any more. You're completely free.
[Evey enters the Shadow Gallery]
V: Hello, Evey.
Evey: You. It was you.
V: Yeah.
Evey: That wasn't real... Is Gordon - ?
V: I'm sorry, but Mr. Deitrich's dead. I thought they'd arrest him, but when they found a Koran in his house, they had him executed.
Evey: [whispers] Oh God...
V: Fortunately, I got to you before they did.
Evey: You got to me? You did this to me? You cut my hair? You tortured me? You tortured me! Why?
V: You said you wanted to live without fear. I wish there'd been an easier way, but there wasn't.
Evey: [whispers] Oh my God...?
V: I know you may never forgive me... but nor will you understand how hard it was for me to do what I did. Every day I saw in myself everything you see in me now. Every day I wanted to end it, but each time you refused to give in, I knew I couldn't.
Evey: You're SICK! You're EVIL!
V: YOU could've ended it, Evey, you could've given in. But you didn't. Why?
Evey: Leave me alone! I HATE you!
V: That's it! See, at first I thought it was hate, too. Hate was all I knew, it built my world, it imprisoned me, taught me how to eat, how to drink, how to breathe. I thought I'd die with all my hate in my veins. But then something happened. It happened to me... just as it happened to you.
Evey: Shut up! I DON'T want to hear your lies!
V: Your own father said that artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.
Evey: No.
V: What was true in that cell is just as true now. What you felt in there has nothing to do with me.
Evey: I can't feel ANYTHING any more!
V: Don't run from it, Evey. You've been running all your life.
Evey: [gasps] I can't... can't breathe. Asthma... asthma! When I was little...
V: Listen to me, Evey. This may be the most important moment of your life. Commit to it. They took your parents from you. They took your brother from you. They put you in a cell and took everything they could take except your life. And you believed that was all there was, didn't you? The only thing you had left was your life, but it wasn't, was it?
Evey: [sobs] Oh please...?
V: You found something else. In that cell you found something that mattered more to you than life. It was when they threatened to kill you unless you gave them what they wanted... you told them you'd rather die. You faced your death, Evey. You were calm. You were still. Try to feel now what you felt then.
Evey: [breathes heavily] Oh God... I felt...
V: Yes?
Evey: I'm dizzy. I need air. Please, I need to be outside.
V: There is a lift that will take us to the roof.
[On the roof, while Evey is standing in the rain]
Evey: God is in the rain...
Evey: I can't stay here.
V: I know. Well, you won't find any more locked doors here.
V: What was done to me was monstrous.
Evey: And they created a monster.
V: [Disguised as William Rookwood, meeting with Inspector Finch] Our story begins, as these stories often do, with a young up-and-coming politician. He's a deeply religious man and a member of the conservative party. He is completely single-minded and has no regard for the political process. The more power he attains the more obvious his zealotry and the more aggressive his supporter become. Eventually, his party launches a special project in the name of 'national security'. At first, it is believed to be a search for biological weapons and it is pursued without regard to its cost. However, the true goal of the project is power, complete and total hegemonic domination. The project, however, ends violently... but the efforts of those involved are not in vain, for a new ability to wage war is born from the blood of one of their victims. Imagine a virus - the most terrifying virus you can, and then imagine that you and you alone have the cure. But if your ultimate goal is power, how best to use such a weapon? It is at this point in our story that along comes a spider. He is a man seemingly without a conscience; for whom the ends always justify the means and it is he who suggests that their target should not be an enemy of the country but rather the country itself. Three targets are chosen to maximize the effect of the attack: a school, a tube station, and a water-treatment plant. Several hundred die within the first few weeks. Fuelled by the media, fear and panic spread quickly fracturing and dividing the country. Until at last the true goal comes into view. Before the St. Mary's crisis, no one would have predicted the results of the elections that year. No one. And not long after the election, lo and behold, a miracle. Some believed that it was the work of God himself, but it was a pharmaceutical company controlled by certain party members made them all obscenely rich. A year later, several extremists are tried, found guilty, and executed while a memorial is built to canonize their victims. For the end result, the true genius of the plan was the fear. Fear became the ultimate tool of this government. And through it our politician was ultimately appointed to the newly created position of High Chancellor. The rest, as they say, is history.
Finch: Can you prove any of this?
V: Why do you think I'm still alive?
Finch: Right. We'd like to take you into protective custody, Mr. Rookwood.
V: Oh, I'm sure you would. But if you want that recording, you'll do what I tell you to do. Put Creedy under 24 hour surveillance. When I feel safe that he can't pick his nose without you knowing, I'll contact you again. Till then, cheerio.
Finch: Rookwood. Why didn't you come forward earlier? What were you waiting for?
V: For you, Inspector. I needed you.
Little Glasses Girl: [camera follows many BFC trucks delivering packages to front doors all over London] I'll get it.
BFC courier: [at Finch's door] Eric Finch?
Finch: Yeah.
Finch: [opens box: One of V's Guy Fawkes masks is inside, along with a spare costume] Bloody hell...
Finch: [at police HQ] How many went out?
Dominic: So far we count eight box cars: several hundred THOUSAND at least.
Finch: Christ.
Sutler: [cut to shot of little girl playing in street wearing V's costume] I want anyone caught with one of those masks arrested!
Convenience Store V: [man wearing a V mask is robbing a convenience store] Give me the money! Give me the f*****g money!
Dominic: [police HQ: all phones are ringing off the hook] We're under siege here, the whole city's gone mad!
Finch: [dawning realization] This is exactly what he wants.
Dominic: What?
Convenience Store V: Anarchy in the UK!
[fires gun into air]
Finch: Chaos.
Finch: The problem is, he knows us better than we know ourselves. That's why I went to Larkhill, last night.
Dominic: But that's outside quarantine.
Finch: I had to see it. There wasn't much left. But when I was there it was strange. I suddenly had this feeling that everything was connected. It's like I could see the whole thing, one long chain of events that stretched all the way back before Larkhill. I felt like I could see everything that happened, and everything that is going to happen. It was like a perfect pattern, laid out in front of me. And I realised we're all part of it, and all trapped by it.
Dominic: So do you know what's gonna happen?
Finch: No, it was a feeling. But I can guess. With so much chaos, someone will do something stupid. And when they do, things will turn nasty. And then Sutler will be forced to do the only thing he knows how to do. At which point, all V needs to do is keep his word. And then...
[Dominoes collapse with TV footages showing conflicts between rioting citizens and the anti-riot police]
V: May I enquire as to how you have avoided detection?
Evey: A fake ID works better than a Guy Fawkes mask.
V: Would you... dance with me?
Evey: Now? On the eve of your revolution?
V: A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having!
Dascomb: Chancellor, there is a contingency that has not been addressed.
Sutler: And what is that, Mr. Dascomb?
Dascomb: Should the terrorist succeed...
Sutler: He won't!
Dascomb: I understand that it is highly unlikely, but if he does...
Sutler: If he does, and something happens to that building, the only thing that will change, the only difference it will make is that tomorrow morning, instead of a newspaper I will be reading Mr. Creedy's resignation!
V: [Quoting Viola from Twelfth Night Act I Scene 2] Conceal me what I am, and be my aid For such disguise as haply shall become The form of my intent.
Dominic: What do you think will happen?
Finch: What usually happens when people without guns stand up to people with guns.
V: The time has come for me to meet my maker and to repay him in kind for all that he's done.
V: At last, we finally meet. I have something for you, Chancellor; a farewell gift. For all the things you've done, for the things you might have done, and for the only thing you have left.
[V places a scarlet carson on Sutler's lapel]
V: Good-bye, Chancellor. Mr. Creedy...
Creedy: [leveling his pistol at Sutler's head] Disgusting.
[Creedy shoots Sutler]
Creedy: Now that's done with. It's time to have a look at your face. Take off your mask.
V: No.
Creedy: Defiant to the end, huh? You won't cry like him, will you? You're not afraid of death. You're like me.
V: The only thing that you and I have in common, Mr. Creedy, is we're both about to die.
Creedy: How do you imagine that's gonna happen?
V: With my hands around your neck.
Creedy: Bollocks. Whatchya gonna do, huh? We've swept this place. You've got nothing. Nothing but your bloody knives and your fancy karate gimmicks. We have guns.
V: No, what you have are bullets, and the hope that when your guns are empty I'm no longer be standing, because if I am you'll all be dead before you've reloaded.
Creedy: That's impossible. Kill him.
[the fingermen open fire on V, but he still stands after their clips are empty]
V: My turn.
[after a hail of gunfire doesn't stop V]
Creedy: Die! Die! Why won't you die?... Why won't you die?
V: Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.
Evey: I don't want you to die.
V: That's the most beautiful thing you could have ever given me.
Finch: Why are you doing this?
Evey: Because he was right.
Finch: About what?
Evey: That the world needs more than just a building right now. It needs hope.
Evey: Tell me... do you like music, Mr. Finch?
Finch: Who was he?
Evey: He was Edmond Dantés... and he was my father. And my mother... my brother... my friend. He was you... and me. He was all of us.
Evey: No one will ever forget that night and what it meant for this country. But I will never forget the man and what he meant to me.
Closing Credits Music Voiceover
[Excerpts from "On Black Power" by Malcolm X] Male: Concerning non-violence: It is criminal to teach man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.
[Excerpts from "Address to the women of America" by Gloria Steinem] Female: Sex and Race, because they are easy, visible differences, have been the primary ways of organising human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labour on which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen, or those earned. We are really talking about Humanism.