Disgust, despair, anger, joy, disturbed, enthralled, amused, amazed, informed, indulged, insulted, intoxicated, nauseated: how many films can you say have made you feel all of these human infatuations (and more) at the same time? The bizarre/bewilderment that that feeling must depict is reflected in that of controversial French film: “Irreversible”. While the term ‘controversial’ is tossed around all too often in films, “Irreversible” can safely say that it is in that elite circle of ‘most controversial films ever made’. The BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification) were very brave to let the film in our cinemas and our DVD collections uncut as it depicts (in reverse chronology) a savage and unflinching rape and the subsequent act of vengeance that makes the violence in “The Passion Of The Christ” look like a playground scrap… at a primary school… for girls… I don’t remember “Passion” prompting record mass multiplex walkouts by cinemagoers because of its unflinching and very reality driven scenes of violence and sexual violation. Welcome to the big boys table…

When a somewhat more sober Marcus and celibate Pierre leave the party they see a woman being loaded into the back of an open ambulance, it is of course Alex. After hooking up with two very seedy gentlemen who wish to help Marcus and Pierre exact their revenge, for a price of course… The men trawl around the seedy underbelly of Paris’s red light district in search for ‘The Tenia’. Their trail takes them to the dodgy nightclub known as ‘The Rectum’. As you may have guessed, it is a nightspot for the local gay community, not an ordinary one however. It is in fact a seedy S&M hardcore sex basement, for men. It is here where Marcus and Pierre find The Tenia and exact their vowed revenge…

The reverse style as used in the superb “Memento” really works for this film, and that feeling of helplessness would not be achieved in the same way if done in simple linear story telling. Some directors/screenwriters think that it would be ‘cool’ to have a story played in reverse for no real gain other than the fact that it’s ‘cool’. Writer/director Gaspar Noe uses the style to inflict maximum power among the drama, unfolding and developing in a different way to again, create that sense of helpless irony: We’ve seen what’s happened and there is nothing we can do about it.

Performances from the main three leads are outstanding. Bellucci, although only in the distinctly different second half of the film really shines as sassy and madly in love Alex, not only is she a siren for male audiences but provides a performance that supercedes that of any recent Oscar winner. As Hollywood doesn’t have a grasp on such non-mainstream affairs, an award was never in question. While on the subject on Oscars, they never gave/given an award to Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock or Martin Scorsese but gave two to Sally Field! It makes my blood boil…

By all means, writer/director Gasper Noe has not made a family mainstream, multiplex friendly film, he has created a story and a style of story telling that is flowing, unflinching and at times very disturbing. There are no cutting camera angles like most modern films. Each scene is one long tracking shot, as if there is an inconspicuous third party following the characters around. There is also a notable difference in camera style in the two distinct halves of the film. The first half consisting of Marcus and Pierre tracking down The Tenia through the seedy underbelly of Paris is dimly lit and nauseating. The camera doesn’t slow down or stop for a second. It is this hyperactivity that can easily be connected with the urgency that Marcus and Pierre feel. Camerawork for these scenes are in general, spectacular, never before has someone been bold enough to use a camera in such a dynamic and breathtaking way. To link scenes, the camera ducks and dives through uncertain blurs, it barrel rolls and loops, like an emotional rollercoaster that can make a man with the most hardened stomach feel a little queasy. Even during scenes of dialogue, the camera decides to keep moving, sometimes remaining static but tilting to the side instead, the very first scene of the film in particular displays some very flexible movement cinematography wise. A strange experience indeed.

If you are looking for entertainment of popcorn proportions, then this isn’t the film for you. This film, along with “Passion Of The Christ” are films that are watched for the experience of it. If you want to watch a film where the terms ‘crucifixion’ and ‘fun’ collide, I suggest you watch “The Life Of Brian”. Anyway, “Irreversible” again falls into the category of a film that you watch for the experience of seeing it not to have a great night out or in with the wife and kids. What’s the point? A question you may be thinking right now. Not only can you watch it for the sake of watching it, but it can also mature you, as a film watcher. This is the kind of film that raises your experience past those who are adamant on solely watching manufactured Hollywood box office cash cows that lack in any passion and artistic creativity. There are some films that are made to make money, and there are some that make you feel.

“A masterpiece” – The Guardian