Everything about Irr Versible totally explained
Irréversible (
2002,
France) is a
film written,
directed,
edited, and
photographed by
Gaspar Noé. It stars
Monica Bellucci and
Vincent Cassel. Several reviewers declared it one of the most disturbing and controversial
films of 2002, due to its explicit depiction of rape and murder. The film employs
non-linear narrative.
Irréversible won the "Bronze Horse" award at the
Stockholm Film Festival and was nominated for the
Palme d'Or at the
Cannes Film Festival, as well as the "Best Foreign Language Award" by the Film Critics Circle of Australia. It was also voted "Best Foreign Language Film" by the San Diego Film Critics Society (tied with
Les Invasions Barbares).
Plot summary
Irréversible contains thirteen scenes, which are presented in reverse chronological order.
The beginning of the film (that is, the chronological end of the story) contains many distorted images and rapidly, freely moving, and rotating cameras that create a sense of chaos.
Two men, Marcus (
Vincent Cassel) and Pierre (
Albert Dupontel), are led out of a
gay S&M nightclub, Club
Rectum, by police. Earlier that evening, they arrived at the club in a frantic search for somebody nicknamed
le Tenia (literally: the tapeworm). Marcus picks a fight with a man, believing him to be
le Tenia. When Marcus is pinned down by the man, who then snaps his arm and attempts to rape him, his friend Pierre rescues him by bludgeoning his attacker's face using a fire extinguisher, crushing the man's skull.
In a succession of scenes, we learn that Marcus and Pierre went in search of
le Tenia after questioning several
prostitutes. A prostitute named Concha (a male transvestite whose real name is Guillermo Nuñez) accurately identifies the rapist as
le Tenia after Marcus threatens to slash Concha with a piece of broken glass. Concha also reveals that the rapist is likely to be found at Club Rectum.
Marcus and Pierre were aided in their search by two men who promised to help them find
le Tenia for money, so that Marcus could exact revenge. It is further disclosed that
le Tenia anally
raped Marcus's girlfriend, Alex (
Monica Bellucci), and placed her in a coma by repeatedly punching and kicking her head and stomach. The rape takes place after Alex encounters
le Tenia beating Concha in a pedestrian underpass.
Le Tenia then turns his attention on Alex as Concha flees. This anal rape scene is portrayed using a single, unbroken shot, lasting nine minutes.
From the rape scene it becomes clear that Pierre and Marcus attacked the wrong man.
Le Tenia was standing right next to the man Pierre killed in Club Rectum.
In the next scene, we see Alex, Marcus and Pierre at a party. Alex and Marcus are apparently divided over Marcus's uninhibited use of
cocaine,
ecstasy and
alcohol. Earlier scenes reveal the real divisions between Marcus and Pierre: Alex left Pierre, a staid and sexually reserved philosophy professor, for the more footloose and sexually uninhibited Marcus. The penultimate scene of the film shows Marcus and Alex rising from bed to prepare for the party, with Alex discovering she's pregnant while Marcus is out buying wine.
The final scene shows Alex reading
An Experiment with Time by
John William Dunne in a park surrounded by children (accompanied by
Beethoven's 7th Symphony). The camera whirls around at an increasing speed, until the scene gives way to a
strobe effect and a roaring sound. A final title card reads:
LE TEMPS DETRUIT TOUT (Time Destroys All Things).
Reception
Critical response to the film was very divided. Some critics believed the film sanctions rape, while others questioned whether or not it was exploitation.
Film critic
Roger Ebert has argued that the film's structure makes it inherently
moral — that by presenting
vengeance before the acts that inspire it, we're forced to process the vengeance first, and therefore think more deeply about its implications.
Some have criticised the 9-minute long rape scene for its prolonged mixture of sex and violence. Noé deliberately chose to keep the camera static throughout the scene, to avoid the charge of having "
eroticised" the attack.
Because of the rape scene and violent content, in
New Zealand Irréversible had a limited release to cinemas and tertiary film studies courses.
Audience reaction to both the lengthy, violent sexual attack and disquietingly brutal murder has ranged from appreciation of its artistic merit to leaving the theater in disgust.
Newsweek magazine stated that this was the "most walked-out-of movie of the year."
Technical details
Irreversible was shot using a
widescreen 16mm process. Many of the scenes were shot with multiple takes that were then invisibly edited together using digital processing, creating the illusion that the scene is filmed all in one shot, with no cuts or edits. Also of note is that the scene where Pierre bludgeons a man to death was accomplished using
computer-generated imagery. Initial footage using a conventional
latex dummy proved unconvincing, so computer graphics were brought in to augment the results.
The film also uses extremely
low-frequency sound during the opening twenty to thirty minutes to create a state of disorientation and unease in the audience.
Cast
The film stars:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Irr Versible'.
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