Irréversible, to start off... is fricking fantastic.

Directed by French film-maker Gaspar Noé, and stars the beautiful Monica Bellucci (The Matrix) and her real-life husband Vincent Cassel (Eastern Promises).  French dialogue, and what may appear Spanish in some seems.

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The reason I had initially gotten this movie were because of the tags Bellucci, ultra-violence, and "something you don't want to watch twice".  The reviews I've read aren't the best... condoning the film for it's violence, gay-bashing, nine-minute rape scene, reverse chronology filming, and pseudo-philosophy of "Time Destroys All Things".  Whatever their paranoia and disdain is, this is something I will soon purchase for my DVD collection.

As mentioned, the film starts where it ends, viewing scene before scene of what lead to the ending events.  Now... prepare for the first half of the 1:33 running film, because you are going for a ride you will not forget.  The camera movements are dizzying (something many reviews complained about) which gave me an out-of-body experience.  To me, well done, considering the first half's fast-paced ultra-violent hedonistic nature.

It starts with two old men talking about "starting over", the main old man having molested his daughter and spending time "in the joint".  There's a commotion outside at a club called Le Rectum, a gay felching club.  You see two men, one being Cassel on a gurney, bloodied, being hospitalized and arrested, being bashed by the community for being fags that need to be raped in jail.  Reverse>> Cassel's character walks into the club.  The 20 minute scene of his search for someone called the Tenia (which means "the tapeworm"... The Tapeworm in The Rectum) is absolutely bizarre, like a ride in Dante's Inferno.  Hedonism, S/M, swings, you name it... flashing lights, swirling camera movements, a soundeffect of some type of horn, the action of Cassel finding this one man... it's all nerve-racking.  You want him to get out of there.  Then, he finds someone who believes he knows him and takes him to a "lair" of sorts.  This scene will forever stick in my mind... the use of a fire extinguisher never before used on film.  The effect is astounding.

>>Reverse>>Reverse>>etc

You downward spiral into the story of what lead to this event.  But, there is more to it.  You basically get your answer in the first half of the film, and that's where the violence and story will end, basically.  The remainder is about the friendship of Bellucci, Cassel, and their friend Pierre.  Most people will end it there and call it a night... but, like any other film, the beginnings tend to gradually introduce the film.  You see a stark change in color and lighting, camera movement, and demeanor.  Once the nine minute rape of Bellucci ends (graphic, indeed), things pan out to normalcy.  I still recommend one to view this all the way through to the ending flash card.

One thing that many disliked about the film was the thought that the rape and violence was gratuitous or displayed for eroticism. Not true.  I didn't pop a boner during this film, even in the last half when you see Bellucci full-fronal nudity.  The last scenes were tasteful of her and Cassel's nudity (part of the story that I can see for the building of his love for her), the rape was still-cammed and not moving (nine minutes of voyeurism and guilt), and the violence wasn't "uncalled" for and part of the brutal reality of the revenge being sought and the cruelty that men do.

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Get a chance, get it.  If you like it as much as I have.. buy it. 

I really liked this movie, but I can never watch it again. 

This was great..loved the way it was filmed...the rape and fire extinguisher scene was beautifully done.

I knew I HAD to see it when it played here and some assclown reviewed it as "repugnant". Sign me the fuck up.

Irreversible is indeed a great movie, but I think the part that I like the most about it was that the audio was set at a frequency to induce a feeling of nausea when viewed.

Has anybody seen the predecessor to Irreversible, I Stand Alone?

If it didn't stick in your memory, you weren't watching close enough.

Have it, but have yet to view it entirely.    Need to do so this upcoming weekend.

No...see something here, with your fucked memory and all, you translated I Stand Alone for me...not Irreversible. We bought Irreversible on DVD, Lions Gate in fact, so you know that fucker was subtitled.


I'd probably lean more towards I Stand Alone more so than Irreversible personally. The absolutely filthy characterization of 'The Butcher' in ISA really hit hard with me--although Irreversible was a much different monster on its own. To be politically correct around here, it's fair to say I enjoyed both very much on their own individual merits but the two films are very much separate from each other and shouldn't really be compared to one another...despite the continuation of 'The Butchers' character in Irreversible.

Time destroys everything...