Review of Irreversible (2002) by Danny R — 01 Nov 2015

French provocateur Gaspar Noe's controversial well-crafted drama is a highly disturbing and extremely difficult to watch. The film is told in reverse chronological order, which means the most distressing parts are early in the film.

The story about a pregnant young beauty named Alex, brilliantly played by the gorgeous Monica Bellucci, who goes through a desolate underground passage and is confronted by a sadistic knife welding man who violently attacks and rapes her, this infamous scene of a ultra-realistic brutal beat-down and the monstrously grueling anal rape of the stunningly beautiful Bellucci, is one of the most shocking ever filmed, it is almost impossible to keep your eyes open during this painful scene.

Her enraged boyfriend, Marcus, superbly played by Vincent Cassel, and a friend go hunting to kill the rapist, a man named Tenia, who is the one responsible for the savage rape and brutal beating of his girlfriend, they both end up in a seedy gay sex club called the Rectum, where they kill a man by beating and crushing his head to a bloody pulp with a fire extinguisher.

Powerful stuff, if you can stomach it. Recommended.