“Were you never taught the rhyme?” (Moore, p.6).  V for Vendetta does not present the reader with a bright outlook for the near future.  Dystopian London is dangerous, fatalist, and authoritarian, and this is represented by dark, sobering colors, deep shadows, weird angles, and an overall gloomy setting.  V shares many stylistic and mood based features that define film noir, and the comic uses these similarities and visual clues to expose a fear of a post-nuclear world, authoritative regimes, and the eradication of liberty.

The first book opens with a full page dedicated to an illustration of a few buildings and a night sky, all drawn in black and varying shades of blue.  The colors, clouds, street lamp, and low angle immediately give the comic a cool somber tone, while at the same time alluding to classic film noir.  Noir is characterized by deep shadows, low light, and sober, pessemistic themes.  Deep, dark shadows, obscured faces, and dark urban settings are central themes to the illustration in the first book of V for Vendetta, but one panel explicitly shows the comic’s connection to the film genre.  At the bottom of the first page in the last panel, the anti-hero V approaches his mask and wig.  In this panel we do not see V’s face, but we can see some movie posters on the wall in front of him.  One of those is a poster for the movie White Heat, a classic noir film from the late 40’s.

Another nod to film noir comes in the form of the government’s public broadcasting system.  “Good evening London.  It’s 9 o’clock and it’s the Voice of Fate broadcasting on 275 and 285 in the medium wave.”  (Moore, p.2).  One of the reoccuring themes of film noir is an emphasis on fate; that the characters have no control over their current predicaments.  Here in V for Vendetta, the citizens of London are being bathed by the “Voice of Fate.”  Fate’s words, on radio waves, pour out of a skyscraper called “Jordan Tower,” we saw in the very first panel.  It is appropriate that the “Voice of Fate” – the voice of God – should come from “Jordan.”  The comic is alwo strewn with references to Christianity and Christian symbols, which are used by the government as propaganda and as a means to control the populace, and help to reinforce the presence of fatalism.  One sign reads, “STRENGH THROUGH PURITY, PURITY THROUGH FAITH,” with a crucifix and angel’s wings.

Crime, too, is a central element to film noir, and it is also a major theme of V for Vendetta.  The “Villain,” V, after saving the girl Evey from the crooked cops, successfully blows up Big Ben.  V is an anarchist and commits these crimes to rid the country of the fascist government, and therefore is marked as an enemy of the state.  

Evey, too, turns into a criminal by helping V.  By doing so she also turns into somewhat of a femme fatale – a common character seen in film noir.  The femme fatale is, in film noir, an attractive but dangerous woman who is able to seduce and trick men into doing what they want.  

These elements of film noir, especially the use of dark, deep shadows, low lighting and strange angles indicate how dystopian and broken this world has become.  The camera angles especially emphasize the twisted nature of society in V for Vendetta.  On the panels that present “Jordan Tower” for example, the tower is either cast in shadows and cool blues, or it is presented at a 45% angle.  Also, when the cops harass Evey, the point of view is once again tilted one way or the other, indicating the crooked nature of the police and of the City of London.

Film noir generally emphasizes the crookedness of the world around the characters and their inability to change their situation, and it utilizes various visual techniques to aid the story and set a distinctive mise en scene. The mood of this first chapter is dark, pessimistic and overshadowed by a feeling of loss of control and helplessness. In this way, then, V for Vendetta is done in the noir style.  

  