Ok, I have heard an unbelieveble amount of hype (good and bad) about this film so I thought it was high time I finally check it out. Glad I watched it alone cause I cannot imagine watching this with anyone else - not even someone I have been married with for over 18 years. It is best to experience this by yourself. Watch it and you will understand what I mean.
Irréversible is a movie that is written, directed, filmed and edited by the director Gaspar Noe.
I have no idea what gave him the idea to do this movie, and frankly, I don't think I really want to know.
It is a disturbing piece of work on soooo many levels.
It has actually won many critical awards. This is somewhat unnerving as well.
I will say this. It is different than anything I have ever seen.
I cannot really say I enjoyed it, as how does one truly enjoy watching a near-ten minute long nasty (and I mean NASTY) rape scene. Seriously!
I understand, on some level, the fame the movie has received, and I can imagine there are many people (in particular, horny guys) who see this film just for the stunningly pretty Monica Bellucci.
That aside, this is one screwed up mess of a movie. It has subtitles, which ordinarily do not bother me. However, it also has totally delusional, vomit-inducing camera work. The camera spins and turns and basically shows dim lit alleys, guy-on-guy sex, and creepy clubs spinning by. That, combined with the subtitles, makes for quite a dizzying experience.
I imagine the director is aiming to make a point of some kind. The entire movie is told in reverse chronological order, with the rape somewhere in the middle - even though it is the theme the whole movie is riding on. It actually works, though.
In the beginning (end?) of the film, Pierre (Albert Dupontel) and Marcus (Bellucci's real-life husband, Vincent Cassel) are frantically running through the streets of some French city, assumingly Paris, seeking out a low-life nick-named 'Tenia' (or in some cases, le tenia - literally meaning 'the tapeworm') because (as you eventually find out) he has (violently) anal-raped Marcus's girlfriend Alex (Bellucci) and beat her to a pulp so cruelly so that she is in a coma. Pierre is Alex's ex-boyfriend, so he & Marcus both have a vengence against this Tenia dude like you've never seen. They finally seem to track him down in a gay club with a choice name - RECTUM.
Oy vey.
That is pretty much the movie in a nutshell, and to say more would ruin this interestingly different movie that even with the grim subject matter and seriously annoying musical (?) score, I couldn't stop watching.
There is a scene involving a fire extinguisher that has been hyped a great deal, and it really does deliver a powerful punch. As does the rape. If you do not cringe, fidget in your seat, and feel dirty afterward - you are not human.
There is a bit of a surprise and devastating ending (or should I say beginning?) that many won't see coming.
In any event, I think this film is worth a look, if for nothing other than the intriguing way the director has put this thing together. I will say again, I've never seen anything like it.
That doesn't mean I ever want to see it again, though.
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