Clockwork as appalling? Um, I think that was the point. (I also think it is
cunningly funny, and generally not recognized as such, but that's a longer
story). One of Kubrick's consistent themes was the pretensions, hypocrisies,
and fragilities of those in power, and how these people create, quite often,
miserable effects for those underneath them. In Paths of Glory it's the
hypocrisies of the French and British armies. In Dr. Strangelove, it's the
buffoons in the War Room. In Lolita, it's the manipulative and lecherous
Humbert Humbert. In Clockwork, it's the notion that the State can "fix"
those who are "broken." In The Shining, it's Jack Nicholson. In relentlessly
mocking and exposing the abuses of those in power--politically and
socially--Kubrick provided a forum for penetrating (and sardonic) cynicism
that has never been equaled in film. His works are so artfully created--from
frame-to-frame, in fact--that any filmmaker who tries to cover similar
territory (I'm thinking of Ollie Stone) generally reveals himself to be a
weightless charlatan. In the end, Kubrick has set the bar awfully high, and
only the most dedicated of movie directors deserve to be spoken of in the
same breath.
Lance . . .
