'Irreversible'
has the ability to make you appreciate and
cherish your life, in part because it shows you
how easily your happiness can be taken away. It
is a film that will allow you to love those
around you even more than you already do. Any
film that can do all that is a masterpiece in my
book.
Rape
happens. It happens to someone, somewhere in the
world, every minute of every day. To avert your
eyes is to deny that it exists in your world. To
turn away is to shirk responsibility. This film
is truthful in its depiction of that horror and
the feelings of vengeance that inevitably
follow. There will be those that are repulsed by
this film, a film that can make 'Requiem for a
Dream' seem like a little girl's fairytale. If
you are one of those who refuse to watch
'Irreversible' or one who watches and is
offended... then you are living in a fake
fairytale world of your own. This great French
film is as brutally truthful and poignant as any
in recent memory. It is one of the saddest films
I have ever seen. And yet, because of it's
reverse chronology, the final scenes of blissful
romanticism are some of the most beautiful and
heartbreaking moments ever committed to the
silver screen. This is a courageous and
magnificent artistic achievement!
'Irreversible' unfolds backwards, much like
2001's 'Memento'. It's not a gimmick... far from
it. The film begins with the revenge beating of
a suspected rapist. It is a savage and
relentless scene that will make many squirm. It
is as graphic and violent a scene as could be
imagined, and at the end, you will feel like you
were the one who had their skull crushed in. And
because we have no real idea who these
characters are, there is a sense that this is
gratuitous and pointless violence. Then we go
back in time just a few minutes to the search
for the rapist and watch as the frenzy of
revenge consumes a man who is bent on justice
for the rape of his girlfriend. The next scene
is the rape itself. It is a soul-crushing scene
of relentless intensity that seems to drag on
forever. It makes the earlier beating scene seem
rather tame and almost justified. And the film
continues to track time in reverse to the
beginning of a seemingly innocuous day filled
with hope and love and tenderness. But of
course, unlike the characters, we are painfully
aware of what awaits them as the day unfolds. It
is tear-inducingly sad to watch these people
drift toward an irreversible destiny.
Monica Bellucci is astonishingly brave. This
performance is as courageous and accomplished as
Diane Lane's role in last year's thriller
'Unfaithful'. She should be decorated with every
award there is for her role as Alex. She is
terrifyingly scared and desperately sympathetic
in the rape scene... but her best work comes
later in the film (earlier in the day) as she
shares some tender moments with her lover
(Cassel) and some funny moments with an
ex-boyfriend. The final twenty minutes of the
movie are all a showcase for her... a chance for
her to show that she is capable of magnificent
subtlety and tremendous range. The bedroom scene
with Bellucci and her real life husband, Vincent
Cassel, is as realistic and honest as you will
ever see. There is no need for added sentiment
or melodrama... only truth. Their interaction is
spectacular in these moments.
'Irreversible' is a film about many things: The
Relentlessness of Time; The Cruelty of Karma;
The Inevitability of Destiny; The Natural
Tendency of Revenge; The Randomness of Luck; The
Sadness of Truth. I could go on and on. This
film doesn't give us convention. It says that
sometimes bad things happen to good people. It
shows that fortune sometimes smiles on evil (Try
to remember every face you see!). The movie
doesn't perpetuate our need for fakery and
fairytales. Bad things happen... but time will
destroy that too.
As the film tells us more than once... "Time
destroys everything."
Director Gaspar Noé and his cast have created a
great film... one that should be seen by
everyone, especially those that don't want to!
This film has the ability to change you... and
how many times can you say that about your
typical fluffy Hollywood fairytale? This is a
masterpiece!
I am sure that this film has reserved a place in
my Top Ten list for 2003, and will easily
entrench itself in my list of All Time Greats. I
love this film.
© Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
n/a
Jacob
Hall's Comment
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