Review of Vortex (2021) by Jluis_001 — 30 Sep 2022

I'm not a fan of Gaspar Noé. I never have been and I've always been clear about it, but I also know how to admit when my mouth gets shut. And Noe has done it in what is undoubtedly the most mature and crucial film he has delivered in his career.

Here he's no longer the provocateur, but the creator who builds a devastating and sad story that doesn't try to be gentle in its treatment and it's not because it cannot be humane in a tale that deals with a subject as depressing as this one, but to have treated it in a way that would have softened it in some way would have been terrible for his film.

Vortex is a film that perhaps goes a bit overboard in its length, and you may feel like you no longer want to go through with that painful treatment, but it's a film that should be experienced regardless of the cathartic satisfaction or entertainment it may not provide.