Irreversible

I only saw this film once before, many years ago during my graphic violence stage, and I forgot a very, very important thing about it: just how disturbing and stressful it is.

The beauty of this film is not only in the cleverness of the way it is shot or in the plot; the beauty of it is that, compared to other horror films, this is not the worse thing you can watch inside the genre, but it's definitely the worst thing you'll ever see because it's realistic. You can see this happening in the real world, and something like this has probably happened more times than we care to imagine. This is not about some sort of supernatural or far-fetched element, this is about people. People doing disgusting, unforgivable, awful things to other people. Which is why this is a film you can't easily shake off. You will sit there for quite a while after it's done, trust me. That is, if you make it through the whole thing.

At once, this film stresses you out. The first sequences, [spoiler] of Marcus walking around a disgusting gay S&M club [/spoiler], will give you an instant headache. The shakiness of the camera is Gaspar Noé's way of placing you, very much against your will, in the shoes of the characters and what they're going through; the anger, the blinding rage, the stress, the impatience, the extremely bad feeling in your gut. You feel it all, and you have no choice. When the camera is still, you're forced to watch one of the most terrible, violent things being done to another human being, and if you're a woman, the experience of watching it is much worse. And when the scenes are not violent and because the plot is presented in a non-linear way, you mourn over the life that the characters had before everything happened, you mourn because they will never be the same.

This film offers no truce; you will feel awful--whether it's because you're angry, shocked, disgusted or sad--the whole time. And if you don't, my friend, you should really consider self-exploration and therapy, because there must be something wrong with you.

This film features one of the most vivid rape scenes you'll ever see. [spoiler] You see her going into that underpass and you just want to pull her back, you see her not running away when she encounters Le Tenia hitting a transsexual hooker and you want to yell at her and push her to run, then finally you accept her fate and you want to scream just as she's screaming, because it shouldn't have happened to her, and it shouldn't happen to anyone ever. [/spoiler]

The polemic scene is cruel in every possible way, and the whole film is cruel in every possible way. Everything escalates incredibly fast and [spoiler] nothing good comes in the end. Marcus is badly hurt and will probably remain broken by -somewhat unearned- guilt and regret (what happened to Alex isn't his fault, but he could've been there to help her avoid it; that would fuck anyone up), Pierre will probably spend the rest of his life in prison and it's not even worth it because he killed the wrong guy, Alex is in a coma and if she makes it out she will never be the same, she will be more broken than any of them, and Le Tenia is left unscathed. [/spoiler] If that's not cruel...

The bottom line is that this film definitely demands strenght to get through it. And yet, it is so well done that the effort is worth it, even if you're not happy that you saw it.

It's a ruthless realistic movie and indeed a masterpiece

tl;dr at the bottom of this piece

Well, I definitely procrastinated watching this due to *the scene*, and I don't regret that. I wanted to be "ready" but nothing really prepares you for that goddamn red tunnel. Accusations of gratuitousness, vulgarity, callousness and even immaturity aimed at Noé probably have some truth to them. Was he trying to be edgy? I think it's safe to say, yes, but to reduce Irreversible (2002) to Noé's masturbatory navel gazing would be a mistake, in my opinion. I have to stress though, I totally understand why people find this unwatchable.

That being said, how everything is framed here is going to drag my mind back to this film. Like Memento (2000), the reversed timeline plays a crucial role in the telling. [spoiler]Instead of the men riding to commit to the act of revenge after the rape, we have them (well, specifically Marcus) pushing themselves on other women and then Alex herself (chronologically backwards). In fact, she leaves the party in the first place because she's made uncomfortable by Marcus. Even as Pierre says farewell to Alex he is lusting after her.[/spoiler] Therein lies the shame and guilt that spurs them both along in the first (last) half. What's more is that we have the illuminating conversation between Pierre and Alex, now ex-lovers, talking candidly about their sex life in front of Marcus (who quietly chuckles throughout). In short, Alex tries to make Pierre see that good sex is reciprocal, and that if the man is not enjoying himself then the woman can't enjoy herself. This statement is a sick twist of irony, given what we have just witnessed in the tunnel. Of course, Alex tries to amend her statement by saying that there's a je ne sais quoi to sex; something that she can't put into words (she does say that after years of talking sometimes you just have to fuck). That very je ne sais quoi is illucidated by the negation of the rape. Whatever happened in that tunnel, we can all agree that it was not "good sex".

I've read some reactions to the film in comment sections and reviews on this site and I think these strong negative responses are absolutely valid. I don't see this as a misogynistic film though, quite the opposite. It shows in brutal totality what one man is capable of, and then cuts to other men not doing *the same* thing, but acting in ways that absolutely suggest that under the right sociological circumstances, they would. Instead of realising this fact, these men other the rapist and seek to kill him, as if to emptily emphasise that they're *not* him. The message, to me, is that vengeance does not redeem, and Marcus' urge to get revenge is in the end emotionally recursive. What comes of it other than more pain and a descent into what looks like hell itself?

The first half of this movie means that you can't watch the second half passively, even though your brain is begging to switch off and retreat.

In the final scenes, [spoiler]in Alex's apartment with Marcus playfully broaching the subject of anal sex with her, the film is screaming at you to understand that there's something deeply wrong in the gender status quo, and it's not coming from women. That the assaults start very small, subtle, and with a smile. Even as they are in each other's arms, lovingly, Alex is trying to explain to Marcus something that should be so basic and elementary that I scoffed audibly. She's telling him that she's not something to be stolen from Pierre, she's not a thing to be taken and that she made the decision.[/spoiler]

I think this is a begrudging 9/10. I hate to love to hate to give it what it deserves. Honestly I prefer Enter the Void (2009) and that's a worse film no matter which way I slice it. It makes Lux Æterna (2019) look innocuous and futile. Will I watch Irreversible (2002) again? Odds are, no, and if I do, it will be alone, again. Don't know if I could sit with anyone on planet earth watching the tunnel scene.

tl;dr [spoiler]if you can stomach graphic rape, then this film has a lot to offer in what it's saying. if sexual assault triggers you in any way do not watch this film, it's simply not worth it.[/spoiler]

Camera moving is amazing. Cast awesome. Gaspar Noé is a unique genious. Many layers, many different vibes. Shocking and cute at the same time. Def a hidden gem in the history of cinema. Honestly big respect. Btw Monica Bellucci is a goddess. I mean.... no wonders Vincent married her. I'd do the same.

The way it portrays the abuse...
Spectacular...
Obviously the act I don't support, and this is a movie....
But fuck how well recorded this is....
The story seemed ""simple"", but with that drama, violence and being so explicit....
I'm not an expert, but those shots at the beginning of the film, I found them weird and they must have a reason...

One of the most extreme and sad films ever produced, its reverse narrative is very well executed, enhancing the impact of everything. The tragic facts are presented in a graphic, brutal and disturbing way, while the context and previous events, gradually revealed, intensify the melancholy tone, resulting in a deeply heartbreaking experience.

I recently watched the straight cut, and it perfectly shows that reverse storytelling is used as a necessity more than a mere gimmick. “Irréversible” loses most of its impact if watched in chronological order, as the whole movie is meant to play with the audience’s awareness of what is going to happen. Tension gets released and gradually replaced with bitterness. Even finding out about the characters’ mistakes leaves a completely different feeling, as we won’t be able to notice until much later in the movie.

Regardless of the version you are watching, it’s going to be an experience you will hardly forget, for better or worse. The swirling camera constantly disorients but strangely stops during the most graphic moments, so that you won’t find a way out of it. The conversations on the train were a little too silly and unnatural for my taste, but other than that, it was definitely an intense experience.

>"You want me to say it? Time destroys everything."

It feels weird rating a movie like this so high. It is a dark and twisted tale that has some disturbing scenes (not just the famous one) and great cinematography. It also uses the Memento style reverse storytelling and it works just as well. Safe to say this is not for everyone.

I think the Movie is well made, its worth a watch, the Beginning can be annoying but its worth to get through it, it has its own Charme so to say. The Actors were top notch in my opinion, they were believable like the whole story.
I didnt see something like it before, which i always like, its something else.