Irreversible

Rating:
Summary: Mind Blowin' Masterpiece!!!!!!
Review: Finally!!! a REAL FILM!!!!!!!!.....
I'm so tired of wasting 2 hours of my life seeing worhtless, so-called films that I can't believe anyone would fund (usually millions of dollars for) such nonsense.

In this film you will see the true meaning of the human condition.
The style of the film is pure brilliance. The acting is thrilling ...its sheer perfection.

Warning: the first scene, is horrifying, (with shockingly, explicit violence) but continue watching, it is well worth the ride.

Don't just see it..buy it! Its a must have!

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie That Demands Close Attention
Review: I got this as a British Import and love it more with each viewing! The so-called 'unwatchable scenes' are high art and designed to test the senses, so just sit back and enjoy. While many have lamented the fact that Noe' chooses to exhibit violence in such an unflinching, realistic way, he makes his point by refusing to turn away from the ugliness that exists inside all of us. The head bashing murder is a wonder of modern CGI effects, and though no woman should ever have to endure what Alex (the gorgeous Monica Belluci)suffers and the hands of a rapist, the message is clear, watch what you wear, how you wear it and where you go, or this could happen to you and it's not pretty. Brutal and Inspired, "Irreversible" is a brilliant piece of modern cinema.

Rating:
Summary: DVD
Review: Got the DVD and seems I was wrong about the ending and also wrong about whether or not the Tenia cashes in his chips. I love the warning on the cover about flashing lights. No warning about the sordid violence giving you a heart attack. Sign of the times? Originally thought the film was some sort of throwback to the radical feminist rants of the seventies but subsequently discovered it was all improvised (rather well, in fact.) Overall, my memory of this film will be, despite it's horrors, one of laughter. Black comedy slowly giving away to the more lighthearted and touching humour of human relationships. The sixties decor of the lover's flat which I took to be a subtext of the permissivness of the sixties leading to ultimate disaster may be no more than a tribute to the director's favourite director. Sometimes you can read too much into things. 'Irreversible' is definately worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps I'm Twisted, But.....
Review: I found this to be one of the most brilliant and invigorating films I've ever seen! I find it a revelation and a thrill to see violence in this world depicted in a realistic, over the top, unflinching way. Of course much of the blood and gore we see here is obviously the work of a great CGI department, but when you see the impact of that fire extinguisher against the man's head and the prosthetic [member] used during the epic rape scene, you can't help but admire Gaspar Noe's bravura and daring. He pulls no punches and leaves nothing to the imagination. I wasn't disturbed, repulsed or felt the need to look away once, on the contrary, I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen. "Irreversible" is the jolt of genius and reality modern cinema has long needed. A job well done!

Rating:
Summary: misunderstood
Review: A few of the reviewers on this page seem to have been totally overawed by the violence and missed the brilliance behind this film. The violence is the most horrific and realistic screen violence I have ever seen and I don't deny that this is probably to an extent for shock value, but how else will a foreign language film get noticed without kicking and screaming in this American dominated film industry.

This film is basically about one event and its consequences and how they can totally destroy your life (hence irreversible). In the film the event is the rape and its consequences are the violent killing of a pimp with a fire extinguisher. If these two events where not as violent as they were would the point of the film have been received with as great an impact?

This film is played backwards therefore we see the consequences before the event. When the film starts it is very frenetic, a man is rushing in and out of doors in a night club there is a lot of shouting going off the music is very loud, dark and dirty, the lighting is red, and the camera is moving about all over the place. As the film progresses back to the beginning before the rape happened the camera settles down, the lighting becomes white and the music is light and happy. There is even a scene where the couple obviously so in love discover they are having a baby.

This film shows how one minute your life could be perfect and you couldn't have a care in the world and how it can all be taken away from you in 9 minutes (length of rape scene). To me that is far more terrifying than watching fictional on screen violence.

One additional thought I had about this film was its classification, I was warned several times by different members of staff at the cinema before watching this film, but I don't think that is the cinemas responsibility. I could not understand how the film "gangs of new york" could be given the same classification as this film.

Rating:
Summary: Strange Disturbing Stuff
Review: Irreversible?This is a key theme in this film where the scenes unfold in reverse chronological order,a technique that, apart from being irritating,just doesn't work as a film.I can only assume that it looked good as a script!Just so you know.
I was anxious to see the film which caused hundreds of viewers to storm out of the Cannes premiere and was also the biggest crisis for the emergency services in 25 years of Cannes-there were several panic attack victims.

This has to be pretty rough stuff i told myself on settling down to watch the film.
Anyone who doesn't know the plot of the film can stop reading now(and don't say i ruined it for you later!).Basically a classy french girl is the unfortunate victim of a brutal(and it is sick) rape which leads to all sorts of recriminations-or does it?
A brief summary,perhaps,but that's essentially it.
Given the propensity of french film makers to be different and weird,the back to front format of the film adds absolutely nothing to the plot-you could watch the scenes as the story was meant to be and enjoy it more easily.
The opening credits roll back to front-like the film Seven,which is a bit sinister,apart from anything else.The eerie(almost) monotone music continues throughout the first(or final)scene and frankly goes on too long-a technique which fails in this scene but adds to the rape scene where the voyeuristic camerawork builds apprehension which is almost worse than the act itself-always assuming,of course,that you know what's coming.
It's possible that you might check out this film as a Monica Bellucci fan but her elegance and beauty in this film only disarms the viewer and doesn't prepare you for the brutality to follow.I've probably understated the case but this is a very violent film at times and is definitely not for everyone.
The critics seem to be in two camps-they either denounce director Gaspar Noe as a sick puppy or hail him as an innovative filmmaker.
I think this is an interesting film.It is,however,essential to have an idea of what's coming-you'll be far too shocked otherwise.I also wonder about the motives of a director who has been quoted as saying that he's always wanted to film a rape scene.Why,Gaspar,why!!!!?
It's good because it's original but it's not a brilliantly original film.Make of that what you will.

Rating:
Summary: unforgivable...
Review: I just can't help myself. I must dive into this "controversy" and inflict my opinion on anyone willing to read it. First off there is a fundamental question which has been at the heart of many a film debate. Salom (120 days in Sodom) had a similar reaction, as did a clockwork orange, Natural Born Killers and on and on. Is it right to illustrate the evil of the world by using an unflinching view, to show it in all it's gruesome reality so we are appropriately disgusted? Does such filmmaking make us more sensitive to the suffering of others, or are we desensitized by seeing it as play acting? Someone much more intelligent then myself will have to answer that. I have taken many a film class and am told when writing my reaction I cannot simply say "It [was bad]" but never has a phrase more aptly fit my reaction. It truly [was bad]. Hard. First off we are treated to an inane philosophy by what appear to be to older homosexuals (homosexuals play a large part in this film, I cannot see why) who say there are no good or bad deeds, just deeds. Profound huh? If this is the case then the camera work that soon follows is "just a deed" too, a bad deed. We are shown the inside of a place called the "rectum" Ho Ho Ho, there are a large collection of pathetic homosexual characters engaged in various repulsive acts that make me almost grateful for the gawdawfull shaky cam, rotating cam [stuff] that goes on for at least 10 minutes, it seems like days. This is boring, pretentious, unoriginal and serves to illustrate the filmmakers are A. Inexperienced film school kids showing up there stogy old professors B. Pretentious snobs who think such nonsense is powerful instead of annoying and pointless. C. Morons. I would opt for C, that would be the least offensive. In addition to the shaky, rolling camera nonsense, the same phrase is repeated over and over and over and over and over again, the point is made and made and made.....you get the point. A murder takes place, a revolting one, by this time such things are expected so it was not all that shocking, add to this the fact that it consisted of a fire extinguisher being smashed into someone's head, over and over and over again, on and on blah blah blah, what in the name of creation was this all about? Who knows and who cares, not me. After this opening scene we see what these guys are all about, it ain't much. Ponderous camera work punctuated by gratuitous and badly filmed violence, the infamous rape scene is done almost exclusively by, what appears to be, a camera sitting on the ground and left running. Of course we got to see a lovely young actress who has been so good in other films sexually violated and then her pretty face gets smashed to pieces. That's entertainment? Is the point that brutally assaulting a young women and destroying her face is, in fact, wrong? Thank you so much for pointing that out, where would we be without such genius filmmakers to show us the way. Better off. The idea of showing the film backwards is good accept for the fact that it really doesn't work. Memento worked because the pieces were scattered around in some order but to a have a linear tale told backwards is fundamentally flawed because, obviously we would have to have all the action in reverse, so the events are told backwards and filmed forwards then we jump to what would have happened before,,,oh who cares. Turns out this young women was intelligent, kind and looking forward to having a child, nice touch. Yes we have all learned a valuable lesson, don't rape people and smash there faces in....or something.

Rating:
Summary: Stay away if you have a soul
Review: Do you enjoy watching a woman get brutally raped at knifepoint, then being kicked in the face over and over again until she is unconscious? Is it a rollicking good time for you to see a man beaten to death with a fire extinguisher with his face literally knocked off? If these things excite you, then this is your movie. Don't believe the lie from Lion's Gate that this is an "art" film. It's a shameful stunt to get rear ends in the seats for a [bad] "film". ...

Rating:
Summary: Over-the-Top Violence Kills Plot
Review: Irréversible is packed with sex and violence, which can usually be used quite well in cinema. In this case there was way too much violence to cover up a weak directoral ability to depict plot. For instance, there is a rape scene that last for about 3-5 minutes and I feel the graphic content of said does not add value to the movie. I am a fan of action movies, and never shy away, but it was too much this time.

Rating:
Summary: Irreversibly Gratifying
Review: I have not seen a film this thoroughly gratifying for a long time. Every time I pay to see a film I feel as though I've been stripped of my money. Before this film, the last film that I enjoyed as much was Amelie, which is a completely different film, and I haven't seen anything satisfying since.

Irreversible takes the same chronologically reverse format as over-hyped and under performing "Memento", a movie that I did not enjoy because there was no reason for it to go in reverse. It was all a gimmick to cover up the fact that the story was weak. But Irreversible makes it work. In the first 10 minutes of this film about 10 people left the theater, which I consider a thinning of the herd. This film is definitely not for the squeamish. I pride myself for not being shocked by anything in films, and this film really got my attention.

In the opening scene of the film, which is the climax, the camera is all hand-held and seem seems never to cut, or move away from the action. It is amazingly violent and disturbing, but not gratuitously. Gaspar Noe, the director, does not shy away from showing the underground world of "The Rectum" in its true form. Watching the opening moments I felt as though this was my incarnation of hell. The scene ends with Marcus and Pierre (Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel) violently murder a man with a fire extinguisher. Usually in movies the camera pans away and we hear what's going on, but in this case, the camera catches everything.

As the movie progresses back in time to the momentous rape of Alex (the angelic Monica Bellucci), the camera sits on the floor and captures the entire rape in one take, one angle, without ever cutting away. It is by far the most honest and chilling rape scene I have ever seen. Alex (Monica) is a supremely seductive, powerful and independent woman, who is dually vulnerable and delicate. Her emotional transformation in this moment, the fear and apprehension of loss of life is apparent in Monica's facial expressions and her non-acting style of acting.

The camera seems to be a witness of Alex's bargaining with the rapist pimp, Le Tenia (Jo Prestia), to her beating, and the long-lasting rape. By the end of that scene, I felt as though I was rapped. The dialogue is as true as I can imagine it to be in such a situation, and throughout the entire film.

Towards the end of the film, or the chronological beginning, we see Alex and her boyfriend Marcus (Vincent) waking up in their apartment and having a very casual and intimate conversation, without rushing through it. And without saying anything about the plot of the film, it reveals so much about the two characters and their relationship together.

The film ends with a bird's eye view of Alex reading a book at a park with children playing around her. The camera spins in circles and gives a feeling of such tranquility, a major contrast from the start of the film.

This film stayed with me for an entire week and I dreamt about it that night. I recommend this film thoroughly to anyone who can stomach honesty in violence. There isn't a trace of Hollywood in this film and I think that says it all.