Explaining the ending of ‘A Clockwork Orange’: Was Alex cured?
As tends to be the case with every Stanley Kubrick movie, A Clockwork Orange has opened the doors to widespread debate over its many meanings, motifs, and interpretations. Massively controversial at the time of its release, many of the themes contained in the story of Alex DeLarge are as relevant now as they ever were.
The ending of the film paints the picture of rehabilitation, but only to a certain extent. After being subjected to the harrowing ‘Ludovico Technique’ as part of a programme designed to curb his sociopathic, murderous tendencies, Alex decides he’s had enough and tries to commit suicide by jumping from a window.
When he wakes up, he finds himself in a very different place, both physically and psychologically. During tests, it’s discovered he’s no longer afflicted by the symptoms of his aversion therapy. The Minister of the Interior even offers Alex a government job as long as he cooperates with the electoral campaign and becomes part of the public relations machine. Beethoven’s Ninth blares, he fantasises about sex before declaring to himself that “I was cured, alright”.
It’s entirely reflective of A Clockwork Orange‘s use of morality, society, and free will, in which Alex sees himself as being cured, and technically, he is, albeit in his own mind. He’s now free to do as he pleases, but only because those in a position of power have made it so. It’s clear through Kubrick’s visual language that sex, violence, and depravity continue to linger at the forefront of his mind, but the inherent dangers that come with it don’t really matter now that he’s got government backing and the public-facing status of being a reformed character.
He’s cured because he’s no longer averse to the very things that had him subjected to the Ludovico treatment in the first place, but the state couldn’t care less. For the government, he’s allowed to revert to type because it’s been proven he can reintegrate into society to a certain extent. He’s still the same person, but now he knows that he has to hide it lest the same thing happen all over again, making him emblematic of the societal scourge at the very heart of A Clockwork Orange.
What’s wrong with Alex DeLarge?
Brought to life by a fearsome and complex performance from Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange wastes little time in establishing Alex DeLarge as a morally corrupt, violent thug happy to spend his free time making life a misery for anyone who grabs his attention.
A despicable human being with a fondness for robbery, sexual assault, and violence, Alex knows his behaviour is morally bankrupt, but it’s not until he’s institutionalised that anything gets done about it. A sociopath with narcissistic tendencies, he happily signs up for the Ludovico treatment under the promise of two-week rehabilitation and reformation, a much better option than his 14-year sentence for murder.
What is the Ludovico technique?
In the broadest sense, the Ludovico technique is an experimental aversion therapy designed to prevent criminals from returning to their wayward existence when they’re eventually sent back out into society.
To achieve that effect, subjects are strapped into a chair, injected with a drug called Serum 114, where their eyes are forcibly held open and shown pre-prepared films containing scenes of gruesome violence and stomach-churning barbarity.
Specialised to fit the needs of each patient, Alex is made to witness sex and violence with Beethoven blaring in the background, which generates the desired effect of swearing him off his favoured proclivities when he refuses to fight back against an actor who attacks him and becomes ill after seeing a semi-naked woman.
Does the film’s ending differ from the Anthony Burgess novel?
By and large, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is fairly faithful to Anthony Burgess’ source material, but the filmmaker did make a large departure from the book when it came to the ending.
On the page, Burgess ends with Alex at 18 years old and working for the musical recording archives, where he’s gearing up for another violent night on the town. When he meets former Droog Pete, though, discovering his former partner in crime is reformed and married potentially leads to a change of heart.
Alex starts contemplating whether or not he should follow suit, reflecting on a potential future where his own children could end up on the exact same path as him should that day come. Kubrick clearly wanted to keep things more open-ended, with the movie opting to omit the final chapter in favour of implying Alex’s rehabilitation has only been superficial, leaving the door open to a renewed reign of terror to come.
