Taylor Baker’s review published on Letterboxd:
A pirouetting monster of angst. The rolling camera and shifting light tones mirror the rotation of the signature police lights, the rumbling music and cries throughout match the sirens signaling the event we all know is coming. Even those who've never seen the film know it's coming. It is these stylistic flourishes that never let the looming monolith of this terrible act out of your mind.
Apes, behaving primally, and actual examples of primate behavior are detailed from a unique perspective calling forward one of Noe's greatest loves, no, not his penis, 2001: A Space Odyssey. What Kubrick was capable of with the physical film medium may be comparable to what Gaspar has done with adopting the digital medium. While he did shoot on 35 he used digital CG retouching and digital sound thus allowing more room for liberties to be taken. Stitching together the rape scene, adding a penis, and bloodying her face all in post-production. But, if I didn't look it up I'd have never known. This revolting and revolutionary film depicting the banal nature of a pillpopping-drunken imbittered man will be one of the most important films for decades to come. You don't need to like it, you just need to not turn away. Eventually the music fades, the looping shots mixing spacial awareness slip away, and we find relief; just like when the lights and sirens are switched off. If only they were never needed in the first place.
It is worth noting that Belluci never seems to have been embraced as the talent she is. I can only hope that like Julliette Binoche, Julie Delphi, Isabelle Huppert, and Isabella Rossellini she not only finds people appreciating her work, but that maybe her best roles will be in her golden years.
