Malcolm McDowell In A Clockwork Orange (1971)
In the case of most blood-curdling screen screams, the climactic moment works based upon our empathetic connection to the character in distress. There are interesting exceptions to that rule however, and perhaps the most notable of those is the character of Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange.
Alex is the sociopathic leader of a criminal gang that engages “ultra-violence” – committing the most heinous home invasions, beatings and rapes with disturbing frequency and relish. He is inevitably caught, however, and receives a fourteen-year prison sentence. Two years in, the Minister of the Interior arrives, looking for test subjects for the Ludovico Technique – an aversion therapy that is experimental in nature, but aims to ‘cure’ violent criminals of their tendencies within two weeks, thus easing pressure on an overwhelmed prison system. The procedure involves pinning the eyes of the subject open and bombarding them with images of extreme violence to such an extent that these specific stimuli will cause terrible sickness if encountered in the future – essentially rendering the violent criminal harmless, against his or her will.
Alex readily submits himself for the Technique – hoping for early release – and soon finds himself strapped to a chair, with his eyes pinned open, watching endless reams of terrible footage on a big screen. Beside him is an anonymous physician, continually applying eye drops, while officials observe from a booth at the back of the room. After a while, Alex begins to realize that the music that accompanies these terrible images is the work of Ludwig van Beethoven – his favourite composer. As a lifelong music-lover, the prospect of being rendered sick by this art-form about which he is so passionate fills him with a sudden wave of panic, giving rise to one of the most recognizable and infamous screams in cinema.
Beginning as a low moan, his scream rapidly begins to rise in pitch, before cutting off abruptly and beginning again in the same way at higher pitch – interspersed with begging and pleading. The effect is the perfect vocalisation of this fast escalation of deep apprehension. It is a pivotal moment in the film – not because Alex is remorseful about his crimes, because he is not capable of remorse. It is pivotal because we see that while Alex is prepared to submit himself to the possibility of being effectively neutered in terms of his “ultra-violence,” he is desperate to retain at least one thing that brings him pleasure. It speaks to the little concern with which he regards his crimes, and the fact that this ‘treatment’ is not just an aversion therapy designed to make violent criminals ‘safe,’ but is also a punishment.
In the face of this realization, Alex’s desperation is contained entirely within that iconic, blood-curdling scream and – though we feel little empathy toward this terrible character – that scream of horror, fear and vulnerability is as chilling today as it was in 1971.
– Sarah Myles