Irreversible (2003)

Nice effects though.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The story is told in reverse....This is not just some artistic pseudo aspiration but something that makes a very interesting difference. Because of the reverse order you already know some of the consequences for what is going on. So instead of trying to figure out what will happen you wonder about what has already happened. I found that refreshing - it gave me a feeling of watching it more intensely.The violence and sexual aberration brakes every filmic scale....Was it necessary to depict the horror that can be involved with sexuality in such an extreme way...? How to judge this? I have always thought that showing scenes with intense violent content could be done very effectively in a subtle manner if you have to do with a very skillful director. But not this time. The part of the story that takes place in the nightclub "Rectum" is absolutely brilliant. The dominant red colour that blends with the shadows and erases every idiosyncratic feature of the faces and only lets the lust and perversion shine through building up to a repulsive climax. It´s like taking the trip down to the perverted Freudian "id" where no morality or known norms seems to exist. The super-ego has been cleaved. Scary and strangely fascination at the same time.Then the rape scene.... Was it to be endured because there was actually something new about the dangerous mix of sexlust and aggression that could be learned? Or was it just a director who wanted to provoke? I had to mute the sound and go further away from the screen in order to see it. If you have the slightest experience with somebody who got too "close" to you at a certain time in your life don´t watch this scene...! Don´t!The first half part of the story....Here the atmosphere is permeated with joy, harmony and humour with the couple, that later will go through the living hell, teasing each other. These scenes delivers a sense of tragedy as they are watched with negative sign.I wish I could rate this movie on another scale than good/bad. I am not through thinking about it and still watches different scenes.Regards Simon

After watching it, I asked myself why I watched it. Because it was full of mental torture with my favorite actress Monica Belucci to be raped and beaten ,even before the movie started. It challenges my viewership thoughts on movies. It distorts my ego of watching good entertaining movies all the time. If you watch this movie , you will know why Monica is considered a great actress from Europe. Graphic violence was the most challenging thing to keep eyes on the movie. Once you have finished watching, you will know the philosophy behind life and time- where one simple luck-denying incident can break all the fortunes into pieces. The movie has nothing about 'art' or 'entertainment'. But, it will give you a new sense of watching movies.

"More cinema needs to be like this." Now I can understand how at first that might be misconstrued as a strange thing to say about a film like this, however allow me to explain. Sure, this film is absolutely brutal and incredibly hard to watch at times, but because of that it is also a thing of beauty. This film is showing us how fragile life really is. In the blink of an eye your world can be turned upside down. Now a lot of films set out to tell a similar message to that, but fail. And why do they fail? Because they are afraid to be bold, memorable and show everything that needs to be shown. This film never backs down in any way and I love it for that.I've always made it clear that I'm a huge fan of French cinema. The French have so much patience in their story-telling style. I love American films in their own way too, but I wish so badly that they weren't afraid to take the time to fully express them self like the French ones do so well. Some of the dialogue in this movie is exquisite. It's designed to break you, if the imagery hasn't already done so. In fact every single detail in this film is designed to destroy the audience - in a good way. In a way that will make this film stick with you until your dying day. I can't say enough good things about this film. Please see it if you haven't already. You'll be so pleased you did (even if you might not realise it at first).

To put it as simply as possible - Irreversible is about a tragedy. What Noe managed to achieve here is to shake up the viewer with various methods, that add a layer of immersion above everything else. The acting is beyond superb - as most of the dialog is actually improvised. The cinematography is simply mind blowing - unlike ANYTHING I have ever seen before. The way the director chose to sequence the scenes is one of the most original and dare I say necessary executions in recent memory. The pulsating soundtrack and the incredible disorienting camera work are perfect and are integrated into the film in a professional manner that doesn't make it cheesy or unneeded - the contrary is true. It is not at all an easy watch - but if you are up for it, you will enjoy one of the most delicate and gut wrenching creations of our time.9.5/10 - nearly flawless.