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Irrversible
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Wikipedia article
'Irrversible' is a 2002 French psychological horror film written and directed by Gaspar No. Starring Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, and Albert Dupontel, it depicts the events of a tragic night in Paris as two men attempt to avenge the brutal rape and beating of the woman they love. The film is told in reverse order, with each scene taking place chronologically before the one that precedes it.
Released theatrically in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, 'Irrversible' competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and won the Bronze Horse at the Stockholm International Film Festival. Critical reception to the film was mixed, with praise towards the performances and No's direction, but criticism towards its graphic portrayal of violence and rape. American film critic Roger Ebert called 'Irrversible' "a movie so violent and cruel that most people will find it unwatchable".
Plot
During a night in Paris, emergency personnel respond to an altercation at the Rectum, a gay BDSM club. Two men are taken outside the club: Marcus, who is on a stretcher, and Pierre, who is arrested by the police. The following scene shows a volatile Marcus and a reluctant Pierre enter the Rectum in search of a perverted psychopath known as Le Tenia. Marcus gets into a fight with a man he suspects of being Le Tenia, who breaks his arm and attempts to anally rape him. Pierre retaliates by beating the man to death with a fire extinguisher as the man's companion watches in amusement.
As the film progresses, it is revealed the two men are attempting to avenge a brutal attack on Alex, Marcus' girlfriend and Pierre's former lover. In the film's chronology, Alex leaves a party attended by the two men due to Marcus' behavior. She walks home alone through a pedestrian underpass and witnesses a transgender prostitute being beaten by Le Tenia, who is revealed as the companion of the man killed at the Rectum. Le Tenia turns his attention to Alex, raping her and beating her into unconsciousness. After Marcus and Pierre discover Alex being taken away by paramedics, they encounter street criminals Mourad and Layde, who offer to help them find the culprit. The group tracks down Concha, the prostitute, through ID she dropped at the scene. Concha identifies Le Tenia as Alex's rapist, setting up the events at the Rectum.
The later scenes of the film depict Alex, Marcus, and Pierre earlier in the day. It is implied Alex left the more reserved Pierre for the uninhibited Marcus because he could not satisfy her sexually, which Pierre holds frustration over. The film also reveals Alex received a positive result on a pregnancy test she took at the start of the day. In the final scene, Alex is shown reading in a park before the film transitions to a strobe effect that ends with the message "Le Temps Detruit Tout" ("Time destroys everything").
Cast
Director Gaspar No has a cameo as one of the patrons in the Rectum.
Production
No first found financing for 'Irrversible' after he pitched the story to be told in reverse, in order to capitalize on the popularity of Christopher Nolan's film 'Memento' (2000).
'Irrversible' was shot using a widescreen lightweight Minima Super16 mm camera. The film consists of about a dozen apparently unbroken shots melded together from hundreds of shots. This included a 9-minute-long rape and scene, portrayed in a single, unbroken shot. Gaspar No said he had no idea how long the rape scene was going to last, as this was determined of Monica Bellucci, who essentially directed the scene, and Jo Prestia, who played her assailant. No stated in interviews that during the production of the film he used cocaine in order to help him carry the large cameras needed to capture the rotating shots in the film. Computer-generated imagery was used in post-production for the penis in the rape scene. Another example is the scene where Pierre beats a man's face and crushes his skull with a fire extinguisher. CGI was used to augment the results, as initial footage using a conventional latex dummy proved unconvincing.Palmer, Tim (2014). p. 8890 During sixty minutes of its running time, the film uses extremely low-frequency sound to create a state of nausea and anxiety in the audience.
Reception
The film premiered in France on 22 May 2002 through Mars Distribution. It competed at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2003 through Metro Tartan Distribution, and the United States on 7 March 2003 through Lions Gate Films. Audience reactions to both the rape scene and the murder scene have ranged from appreciation of their artistic merits to leaving the theater in disgust. 'Newsweek'
Critical response to the film was divided, with some critics panning the film and others considering it one of the year's best. The film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 122 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.75/10. The website's critics' consensus states: "Though well-filmed, Irrversible feels gratuitous in its extreme violence." The American film critic Roger Ebert argued that the film's structure makes it inherently moral; that by presenting vengeance before the acts that inspire it, we are forced to process the vengeance first, and therefore think more deeply about its implications.
'Irrversible' won the top award, the Bronze Horse for best film, at the 2002 Stockholm International Film Festival. It was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Award by the Film Critics Circle of Australia. It was voted Best Foreign Language Film by the San Diego Film Critics Society, tied with 'The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares)'. It grossed $792,200 from theatrical screenings.
The film received three votes in the 2012 'Sight & Sound' critics' poll of the greatest films and in 2016 was listed by critic Andreas Borcholte as one of the ten best films since 2000.
'Irrversible' has been associated with a series of films defined as the 'cinma du corps' ("cinema of the body"), which according to Palmer includes: an attenuated use of narrative, assaulting and often illegible cinematography, confrontational subject material, and a pervasive sense of social nihilism or despair. 'Irrversible' has also been associated with the New French Extremity movement.
Film critic David Edelstein argued "'Irrversible' might be the most homophobic movie ever made." No's depiction of gay criminal Le Tenia raping the female lead, Alex, remains the film's most controversial image. In his defense, No stated, "I'm not homophobic", noting "I also appear in 'Irrversible', masturbating at the gay club", as a means of showing "I didn't feel superior to gay people".
References
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