It does something similar to The Prisoner in that it pits the individual against the repressive conservatism and conformity of society. In TWM however the individual is made as disagreeable as possible (unlike the hero Number Six), but Howie is still the individual, and the seductiveness of the society (the the tastes and colors of a rich life beyond his training you speak) are demonstrated to be vacuous, bogus, entirely hollow and, ultimately, murderous. The end is as chilling a damnation of human vulnerability to absolute authority as anything in the history of cinema - even Scum - even more so when people invariable come away from it feeling a sense of triumph.