DVD Review: Irreversible
Irreversible (2002)
Studio: Lionsgate
DVD Release Date: August 5, 2003
Directed By: Gaspar Noé
Cast: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel
Brutal As Hell Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
Review By: Marc Patterson
Visceral. Edgy. Disturbing. Literary. Fucking beautiful. Those six words begin to describe what I have found to be one of the most engaging presentations of so called “art house cinema” to assault my senses in a long time. I was first introduced to the work of Director Gaspar Noé through the acclaimed film I Stand Alone. When I first saw that piece I had no idea what I was in for. What I found was both beautiful, saddening, while both abrasive and raw. Having been introduced to the mind of Noé through that film I at least had somewhat of a feel for what I might be in for with Irreversible.
Like I Stand Alone, Irreversible is an engaging presentation of violence and destruction, all which can happen in a day. We sit and watch as slowly the film unfolds before us, telling us a tale in reverse sequence. The credits roll first, and then scene by scene plays out before us telling us a story from the ending to the beginning.
The film opens with a gyrating camera circling and swooping city building and streets, where eventually we are taken inside to a room with a naked Philippe Nahon sitting on a bed smoking a cigarette. Sharing his bed is another man, and they make simple conversation. There is the looming feeling of dread in the air, as if something morbid is about to happen. And certainly something quite sinister is. We aptly presume that Nahon is reprising his character as “The Butcher” from I Stand Alone, as Nahon makes specific reference to sleeping with his daughter. Before the events between these men are given time to unfold the camera whisks us away to the streets below, which are filled with police, who are flooding a popular gay men’s club known as “The Rectum”.
Racist, homophobic slurs and epitaphs fill the air with a cacophonic chorus of pure bigotry and hatred as we watch a man being brought out from the club on a stretcher. There has been an incidence which we can only assume to be a hate crime. The gyrating camera work continues, if not intensifies, as we enter The Rectum and delve deeper and deeper into the pit of the club following a man (Vincent Cassel) who is in an complete state of incensed blind rage beyond any thought of reality. His focus lies on one purpose and that is finding one man and destroying him. We don’t know who he is, nor do we understand the reasoning behind his madness. Adding to the euphoric rage is an audio assault that grinds into our senses adding to the chaotic fever of the film.
As the film continues we find out that Marcus (Cassel) is on a course of revenge. His girlfriend Alex (Monica Belluci) has been brutally beaten and raped, and now is in a coma. What the film unfolds is not simply the tale of the violence, but the complexity of the relationships that explain the aftermath.
While there is certainly enough material provided by this film to fill a term paper we should focus on a few core elements of the film which cannot be ignored. The first would easily be what has become the highly controversial rape scene. Filmed employing one continuous long shot, this scene is easily the most brutal, intense, and realistic rape scenes put to film, at least that I’ve had the displeasure of sitting through. You’ll want to look away and you’ll beg for it to just end, but you’ll know that it won’t end until it is ready to. This is part of Noé’s brilliance. He doesn’t force the film or the story on you. The story is allowed to tell itself, and play itself out naturally. This is after all what makes the film so believable.
The performance of Belluci in this scene is superb. She doesn’t over dramatize, or over act, so as to diminish the effect of the scene. Hell, she makes Hillary Swank’s performance in Boys Don’t Cry to be something far more palatable. If the audience was uncomfortable then, they would be puking in their seats and running to the showers after Belluci’s performance.
Another component of the film that should have people talking is the audio treatment. As mentioned, the film maintains an auditory assault that goes straight for your gut while paralyzing you into a coma. If you watch the film in the preferred condition (dark room with surround sound maximized) and manage survive the first thirty minutes of the film, then you’re doing better than some. Beyond the nauseating frequencies that ravage us, I’ll focus on the “real” background noises that flesh the film out and ground it in the concrete world. Where other films diminish the natural sounds and noises of the environment, here they are used to maximum effect. Descending into the subway sounds and feels like you’re descending into a subway station. The audio is carefully used to transition scenes and settings becoming an integral part of the full experience. Thank god there’s no way to employ smell. I don’t think I could have handled the stinging scent of stale urine.
Combine the audio with the visually gyrating camera, the masterful use of the long shot, and top notch acting and what you have is a dark world that is very real for the audience. This allows the director to portray his story to us in the most effective way.
“Time Destroys All Things” is the self-proclaimed theme and certainly this film is a beautifully illustrated portrait of exactly that. While it is not an easy film to sit through, it is a rewarding experience to do so. It’s thought provoking in how it tackles the subject matter, yet it doesn’t force any conclusions on the audience. Much like any other work of visual art, it simply allows the audience to engage themselves in the experience and come to their own conclusions.
Without a doubt Irreversible stands above its contemporaries with its unrelenting violence and dark narrative. It takes other films that have covered the subject and kicks them in the groin repeatedly reducing them to whimpering piles of shit. You’re going to sit back in your seat speechless. You won’t be left unaffected and this is a good thing, I promise.
