Irreversible

Le temps détruit tout. I was looking for this film online and stumbled across what is called the “Straight Cut” version, where the scenes are reorganized chronologically. In other words, it turns Irreversible upside down. My first thought was: what a dumb thing to do. It goes against what Gaspar Noé intended the film to be and completely changes the experience. The whole point of Irreversible is that it unfolds backwards, scene by scene. The very first scene is actually the ending of the story, leaving the viewer confused and disoriented. Marcus is desperately looking for Le Tenia, yet we have no idea who he is, what he looks like, or what he has done to deserve such brutality. As the film moves backwards, everything gradually falls into place. I have read that some people found the rape scene unnecessarily long. I didn’t. I thought it was horrifyingly realistic. It may be one of the closest representations of the cruelty that exists in the real world. Huge credit to Monica Bellucci for portraying such immense pain and suffering. What an incredibly difficult performance to give. I also loved how Pierre is initially presented as a violent, almost animalistic figure, only for the film to reveal the complete opposite. He is thoughtful, gentle, and deeply considerate. Seeing him eventually reach that breaking point shows just how devastating those events were for him. I also read that Noé and his composer, Thomas Bangalter, embedded a 27 Hz low-frequency tone throughout the opening half hour of the film. It’s a frequency that most people don’t consciously hear, similar to sounds sometimes used in crowd control research. You don’t notice it directly, you simply begin to feel uneasy, anxious, as if something is wrong long before anything has happened. I just wanted to say that this was a remarkable project. Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci deliver phenomenal performances, and Gaspar Noé executes his vision with complete conviction. Whether you love it or hate it, Irreversible is the kind of film that stays with you long after it ends. Le temps détruit tout.