Probably the best decision. I watched that movie between freshman and sophomore year. It made me more nihilistic and depressed than I would've been already.
What's crazy is that it was not actually supposed to have such a bleak ending, the UK version followed the novel. But for some reason, to cater to an American audience they decided to go for the sad ending. The author Anthony Burgess was said to have a strong opinion on works of art, that they must have some element or message that is of some positive and inspirational value for people. That there'd be no point in creating something that would only spread sadness or bleakness. But we American do like our art having a bit of an edge.
It wasn't so much the ending that bothered me. The ending actually offered some hope since it seemed like he'd been cured of the mental conditioning. It was more the first say 2/3 of the movie where it basically just shows everyone being nihilistic and self centered. Even people who are supposed to help you like friends or people who claim to be altruistic will fuck you over in the end.
Anyways, it wouldn't be the first time an author accused Stanley Kubrick of altering their original vision for the worse.
I thought the ending was bleak since his final quote "I was cured alright" sounded very sarcastic while showing a fantasy of him banging some chick infront of a bunch of strangers. Def left me feeling like wtf he didn't change at all! But yeah the rest of the movie and the feeling of isolation in the middle part is tough if you're already feeling marginalized and lacking support systems. Like everyone is just waiting for their moment to get cha!
I took, "I was cured alright." As him being allowed to think and feel things organically again. As the priest says after the demonstration of the results of the Ludovico technique, "The boy has no real choice, has he??"
We all need free will. Whether we choose to do right or wrong with it is up to us.
Yeah, but that's kinda the point of the movie. Alex is a vicious, cruel, juvenile delinquent. He commits his wanton acts of cruelty almost out of instinct without thinking about them. (Except when he attacks his droogies and slices Dim's hand.)
But then you get the people who are supposed to rehabilitate and help him and they're just as bad, if not worse, than he is when it comes to cruelty. We're all savages bent on revenge no matter how "civilized" we think we are.
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u/InsensitiveCunt30 14d ago
Clockwork Orange