Review of Irreversible (2002) by Jenna W — 01 Apr 2012

Irreversible, by Gaspar Noe, is one of the most horrifying experiences one will ever have while watching a film. I do not mean to say that this was a bad film or that anything concerning it's production was substandard; yet the content which is displayed in this film is some of the most graphic and disorienting I have ever been made witness to.

Irreversible is told in reverse, beginning with the closing credits and working its way back from their. Some of the first images which we are made privy to are conveyed by a wheeling camera through a gay S&M club. Through the pulsating soundtrack (as if created by the devil himself) we are brought deep within a shadow world of half seen images and fully realized horror. It is within these first couple of minutes that we witness the first of two majorly terrible events. The brutal murder of a suspected rapist via fire extinguisher. Using computer graphics to help illustrate the complete destruction done to this character's face, we are set up with a question in our heads, mainly: what did this guy do to deserve this? The answer is given in a startling sequence a little later on in the movie.

As the evening is recounted, we see a vigorous search by a half crazed Vincent Cassel and his somewhat rationally minded companion, played by Albert Dupontel. They are looking for a man named Tenia-- a pimp and a rapist. You see, Cassel's character's girlfriend (Monica Bellucci) was brutally raped and beaten by the man which they are seeking.

The brutality of the rape scene is unlike anything I've ever seen before on film. There is no sexual excitement in this encounter. There is no sense of arousal in the audience, only an unflinching horror as the single 9 minute shot takes us meticulously through the whole event. We do not get close ups of the pelvic region, as most directors would focus their camera. No, we remain with the victim the whole way through her ordeal. It is revolting to watch. This is repellent cinema, and I don't think it was meant to be any other way.

This film makes you think of the women in your life-- your sister; your friends; your girlfriend; your mother. You think about those who have had such travesties take place in their own life. You do a lot of thinking during this film.

After these horrific deeds are done, we still have a whole evening to retrace to see how we ended up at this point. This gives us time to look at the young woman before her travail, to look in her eyes and know her future before she does. To pity her, as if we were some deity on high, looking down upon the people who inhabit this world and to know ever one of their fates and not be able to do anything about it.

Some critics have made statements concerning the backwards chronology of the film, with the most horrifying events taking place at the top of the picture, instead of using them as some sick, tantalizing climax at the end where we would be confronted with the images and in the next moment have left the theater. They say that after the rape we are forced to decide for ourselves whether this woman, Bellucci, is still attractive to us, or has her destiny tainted her in some way. I did not see this at all. I did, however, find that I pitied her. I found myself gazing upon her delicate features and how all of that will be taken away in as little as ten simple minutes.

I cannot say that I liked this movie-- I would say that one must be a little sick in the head of they actually claimed any affection for it. But I will say that it was a very well made movie, only meant for a single viewing. This is definitely not for everyone, but only for those few unfortunate souls who are somehow brought within the magnetic pull which seems to exude from it's taboo nature. This was an incredible film, one which I am quite sure that I will never see again.