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It is in prison that Valerie, fighting to hold onto her humanity, resists her fate by committing her story to paper. She writes how it is her integrity that is the most important thing in the world, that as long as she has that last inch of herself, she is still free in some sense:

"It's strange that my life should end in such a terrible place, but for three years I had roses and I apologized to nobody. I shall die here. Every last inch of me shall perish. Except one. An inch. It's small and it's fragile and it's the only thing in the world worth having. We must never lose it, or sell it, or give it away. We must never let them take it from us."

Evey eventually reads Valerie's letter too, and, like V, is changed forever, suddenly unwilling to live the life of a docile sheep.

It is an extraordinarily powerful moment in the film, not just because it is beautifully acted and well-written, but because it is so utterly unexpected.

What makes this screenplay, written by the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix, Bound), even more remarkable is that much of this was added to the source material, a graphic novel by Alan Moore. When was the last time you heard of a Hollywood movie being “gayed” up? Of course, it's usually the exact opposite that happens, as in Fried Green Tomatoes, where the book's lesbian relationship becomes so blurred that any audience member can read practically anything he or she wants into it.

That isn't the case with V for Vendetta at all. The Wachowskis not only made Stephen Fry's straight character gay, but made him a symbol of resistance.

Most importantly, however, they made Valerie's story--which was always important in the comic--the very center of the film. Her time on screen is brief, but it is the transformative moment for both the characters and the audience.

Some GLBT gadflies may criticize this movie because, while the movie idealizes GLBT love, it is still the heterosexual characters who ultimately save the day.

These gadflies will have missed the point.

V for Vendetta is not a broad comedy with Robin Williams pretending to be gay, or an art-house movie like Brokeback Mountain produced on a small budget for a relatively limited, upscale audience.

This is a big budget action film aimed at the widest possible audience, and a lesbian love story stands right in the heart of it. A lesbian's strength and courage inspires a man to start a revolution, and another woman to finish it.

One day there will surely be big budget action films with GLBT lead characters. But by the time that happens, the audience will necessarily have become tolerant to the point where the characters' gayness will be a non-issue.

In V for Vendetta, meanwhile, gayness is the issue, at a time when the subject is one of the country's and the world's most contentious controversies

V for Vendetta is one of the bravest, boldest movies in years. It's also one of the most pro-gay ever.

Get V for Vendetta on DVD at Amazon.com

Michael Jensen is the editor of AfterElton.com. He is also the author of Frontiers and Firelands. Brent Hartinger is the author of the gay teen novels Geography Club and The Order of the Poison Oak. His latest teen novel is Grand & Humble. Visit him at www.brenthartinger.com.

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