Film Review: Nineteen Eighty-Four

About Nineteen Eighty Four (1984)George Orwell’s novel of a totalitarian future society in which a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.

Starring: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack, Gregor Fisher

Directed by: Michael Radford

Runtime: 113 minutes

Studio: MGM

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Review: Nineteen Eighty-Four 

Orwell’s dystopian novel is, in my opinion, one of the finest books ever written. I have long had my own image of the society Orwell imagined in the future but I was fascinated to see how Michael Radford’s adaptation would look. The story focuses on Winston Smith (John Hurt) who lives in London which is now the capital of Airstrip One, part of the totalitarian state of Oceania where individuals are watched carefully by Big Brother (Bob Flag) and the Thought Police maintain order. Winston works in the Ministry of Truth where he edits documents such as newspapers to tie them into the changing political climate, in effect modifying history to paint a better picture of Oceania. Whatever the state says goes.

Winston is somewhat maladjusted in Oceania, surreptitiously writing his thoughts in a diary he keeps hidden in the walls of his home, which goes completely against the rules of the state. One day Winston is handed a note by Outer Party worker Julia (Suzanna Hamilton) declaring her love for him. Winston and Julia begin an affair outside the city and above a rented room in a pawn shop where they believe no one knows about them and the shop owner Mr Charrington (Cyril Cusack) is happy to turn a blind eye. Oceania is not a totalitarian state for nothing though and Winston and Julia soon find that emotional attachments such as theirs are not welcome.

This is a very good adaptation of Orwell’s novel. The future is grim and dark, Winston is very much a tortured soul in a society he is forced to endure though he tries desperately to find something to cling to, be it the pages of his diary or a liaison with a prostitute outside the city. Winston and Julia seem a good match and not just sexually. They become a private sanctuary for one another but the film is faithful to Orwell when the state catches up with the lovers. There can be no happy endings under a totalitarian regime such as Oceania and the film befits Orwell’s intent in first writing his novel.

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a worthy adaptation of the novel with an excellent central performance from Hurt. Although the images of Orwell’s society in the film are not completely what I have imagined in reading the novel, this still captures the essence of Orwell’s masterpiece in its frightening depiction of an uncompromising and controlling society that many have come to know in the world, and many more may sadly follow.

Verdict: 5/5

(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)

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