Irreversible
2003 ‘Irréversible’ Directed by Gaspar Noé
Synopsis
Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass. Her boyfriend and ex-lover take matters into their own hands by hiring two criminals to help them find the rapist so that they can exact revenge. A simultaneously beautiful and terrible examination of the destructive nature of cause and effect, and how time destroys everything.
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A visual and aural masterpiece that is ultimately brought down by its subject matter and its narrative structure.
What Noe does here as a director is nothing short of breathtaking. It begins with a bombardment of frenetic images combined with a cascade of sounds that never eases or lets up. He sets the tone here with some arresting violent and seedy imagery. It is brutal and leaves no room for interpretation as to what Noe is set out to do here. He is fully intent on shocking and disturbing his audience.
The aesthetic he uses to skip back through time in this a-chronological narrative is fantastic, disorienting and meticulously timed and executed. And that's really where my appreciation for this…
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The first time I saw this, I was like psssh that wasn't disturbing at all no way. The second time I saw it, I appreciated its cinematography and acting and whatnot. But now, upon my third and hopefully final viewing, it hit me. It fucking hit me.
This is probably a pretty macho bullshit viewpoint but I always feel that when I enter into a relationship it is my duty to protect the other person. And that doesn't only apply to romantic relationships, either. Be it a sibling, a child, or even a friendly acquaintance, I think of myself as the righteous LG paladin, keeping the agents of darkness and evil at bay. Which is kind of strange seeing as…
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"Take the underpass. It's safer." - Woman on Street
No. No, it isn't.
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This film has great chances to be my favorite Noé.
At some point of the movie, I needed to stop the film and look at the Internet to check if this shit was right. I was completely mesmerized for every movement of this camera, by the illogicality of the subtitles and the acting but this was all too different for me to believe this was made to be so. Well, for my surprise and joy, it was.
Gaspar Noé isn't just a great director. He is indeed innovative, original and audacious as a filmmaker, but he is also a virtuose in the handling of a camera. It's almost unbelievable that he is also his own camera-man. In Irreversible, his camera…
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This movie is deeply unpleasant and unsettling. It's actually a dreadful, awful experience being in its company throughout its running time. It is also one of the best films I have ever seen. Unlike Memento, to which it could clearly be compared in terms of structure, there is an actual point to the storytelling trickery, that of peeling back the layers from revenge to crime to peace. It's a fascinating way to get to know a set of characters, and though it is unflinching and black-hearted in one sense, this film also has more love and affection for its characters than Gaspar Noe has so far been interested in displaying. I would not recommend this film to everyone, or almost anyone, but it made a significant impact on me, and three years later I still think about it often.
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Terrible date movie.
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Well, I guess you can't know for sure how to feel about the film the first time you see it. For one thing, I get the feeling that the director is intentionally trying to piss you off, not with the actions the characters do so much as the filming style. The camera moving all over the place, the opening credits sequence color style and music playing with it, and the seizure inducing final moments. I get the feeling the director wants to spite anyone who watches this movie, or at least those parts. On the other hand, you can't help but respect the effort it must have taken to film those scenes with that camera style, not to mention how…
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This film, and that scene, is rough. But it's necessary, and the film succeeds in its ambition to detail how quickly the status quo can change. "Time destroys everything."
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Utterly harrowing. I could not get it out of my mind for days. It will make you want to arm yourself and castrate rapists. Maybe that is a good thing.
Viewer beware. It does not pull any punches. I can't 'like' this film but it should be mandatory viewing for macho fucks. -
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Review later.
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WOW! this is not for everyone. gaspar noes how to shock... bad dad joke
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Sensational movie.
This is exactly the case when reputation, contrived by the producers, largely saves the day. The film was not so well received by critics, but fans of the French "underground" will be enjoyed.
On the site of director, I would have put accents on the other. Such impression that he was not able to finish the movie.
But Noé is so good nevertheless! -
In Noé's films, the camera eye becomes an all-knowing entity, whirring in and out of cinematic spaces in real time. This is truly a style to wonder, but it's too bad that I have no interest in seeing Irreversible again. The images are too disturbing, too raw, lingering on beyond reason. But, an amazing performance by Bellucci and unreal soundtrack by Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter.
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Argentinian born French film maker Gaspar Noé is already one of the most important and powerful film makers of all time. His 1998 debut feature film Seul Contre Tous is an unforgettably merciless but also so uniquely rewarding depiction of rotten society with even more rotten human beings that inhabit it with their selfishness and potential to violence and revenge - those things that everyone feels sometimes, more or less often, and things that only create more of them when not kept inactive and off. The last 15 minutes of Seul Contre Tous include some of the most unimaginably brilliant editing and camerawork (including a body-mounted camera and clever communication/estranging with the unsuspecting audience) not to speak of the soundtrack,…