French with English subtitles
Before presenting you with another 100% guaranteed, talent-free review, here are three things about the movie you should know.
First, the story is presented in reverse order, meaning the beginning scenes come at the end and the end scenes start at the beginning. (This is only confusing if you try to follow the plot.)
Second, there are two infamous moments in the film that are so vile (each for different reasons) that no self-respecting fan of graphically disturbing movies should consider their viewing history complete without successfully enduring them.
And third, director Gaspar Noe included in the film a cameo of himself masturbating, which he claimed was to prevent critics from labeling him "homophobic." Unfortunately there is no word on what Noe would have done had critics threatened to label him "Mr. Poopy Pants" or had given him a swirly in the boys' bathroom between takes.
Okay! Now that everyone is up to speed we can move on to our normal poorly written, snark-filled review littered with uninformative opinion and mirthless humor.
(What do you mean, "do we have to?")
The film is meant for a high brow audience (I believe the technical term is "artsy fartsy") and as such is full of oddities from beginning to end. Or from end to beginning. Whatever. It's chock full of crap.
For example, during the first 30 minutes there is a low, almost inaudible hum on the soundtrack at the 28Hz frequency. Supposedly, this sound is similar to the one produced by an earthquake and is known to cause nausea and vertigo in some people. Apparently it was added with the hope of driving some audience members out of the theater, which it did. (On a side note, it's been rumored that the entire Miley Cyrus catalog was also recorded at 28Hz.)
Another example involves one of the main characters, Alex (Monica Bellucci) who we see early on reading "An Experiment With Time" by J.W. Dunne, a book that explores the duel ideas of a time-traveling observer and premonitory dreams. At one point, Alex describes a dream in which she is in a red hallway that breaks in two. Because the movie presents its story in reverse order, the audience already knows that this dream portends Alex's own rape. (Oh, shut it you big whiner. We both know you saw that coming three paragraphs ago.)
Irreversible is a hard movie to watch, but not just because of its content. The conceit of reversing the story's chronological order enhances the ominous tone, but at several points in the film I found myself trying to remember characters and situations I'd seen earlier but which take place later, only to miss the significance of what was happening in the now. And the dialogue, which by most accounts was ad lib, is not all that interesting or revealing.
Still, Irreversible is not a typical genre film. Director Noe doesn't seem interested in the big scare or showing gore for the sake of gore. In fact, most of the movie is uneventful and quiet, the underlying theme being that evil isn't something for which one can prepare or take precautions against, and that bad things can and will happen to good people without warning.
The story itself is fairly straightforward (probably one reason the director decided to spice it up with a little gimmickry). It is competently shot, well acted, and yes, thought provoking. But like Antichrist, another BSC reviewed film, it is an art film that contains a little gore, not a gore film that contains a little art. The breed of horror fan that expects to see the walls running red will be disappointed, but for fans who are searching for portrayals of evil as it truly happens this film is a must see.
Gaspar Noe has succeeded in creating something more than just another dark thriller. Like a cinematic treasure map, Irreversible gives clues on how to traverse the bleak terrain of the human heart.
The problem is, once deciphered, there's still no treasure.
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