Probably one of the most grotesque and difficult films I have ever seen, Irreversible still stands out as one of the greatest cinematic achievements of the last twenty years. In it, Gaspar Noé decides to forgo the boundaries of modern movies, creating a reverse-linear revenge noir masterpiece in the process. The movie revolves around a single night out in which Alex (Monica Bellucci) is viciously attacked by a rapist on her way home. Her boyfriend, Marcus (Vincent Cassel), and her ex, Pierre (Albert Dupontel), set off to find the aggressor and get their revenge. Simple, I know; and yet Noé manages to create an unbreakable atmosphere of regret, not abuse, with that basic storyline.
Noé really tried to create a disturbing movie, and nothing about the film’s subject matter should ever settle lightly in your stomach. In fact, the first thirty minutes of the film have a background noise with a frequency of 28Hz — an inaudible frequency that causes nausea and vertigo. Purposefully put into the movie, the noise adds on to the sickly tone of the film and in turn makes it one of the most walked out of movies presented at Cannes Film Festival.
The movie progresses beautifully with impressive technical vision. The camera shakes and wobbles all over the screen during the darker first half of the movie and slowly relaxes as we get to the end of the film. At the same time, Noé proves himself as a visionary by constructing impeccable shots. Long and difficult-to-film scenes follow each other smoothly, while still capturing the harrowing ambience of a horribly violent sex act. And while the camera constantly moves throughout the scenes, Noé decides to place the camera on the ground and force the audience to watch the infamously long rape scene. Although the vision of the director hurts and is still hard to watch, such a deliberate movie needs to be carried out in a flawless manner — and Noé does just that.
Considering also the nature of the narrative — as it is written in reverse-linear order — it takes a very reaching director to be able to still present an actual story with all the plot points laid out precisely. As I watched the movie, every scene made me think that if the characters just changed one thing at any given time, then maybe nothing bad would ever have happened. Telling the story backwards allows for the audience to see the steps that could have been avoided.
The casting was also a success, as the chemistry between Cassel and Bellucci worked effortlessly. The couple was married at the time and worked intimately with Noé to develop the story and the characters. They created very believable personalities, even if the realism of the movie is what frightens most viewers away.
Critics have been split on the film, calling it a “petty form of sensationalism” and “too exploitative.” I would agree, but to achieve the sense of compunction and anger and violence, the plot needed to revolve around a horrific act; otherwise the importance of every scene in the movie depreciates and the film turns bland. Noé has repeatedly tried to create movies that push past the modern viewing experience and engulf the audience completely. This might be his greatest attempt at doing so. The film can be seen via Netflix Instant Streaming, if you dare.
— Ilya Kundin
