Irreversible - Time destroys all things

 

Irreversible is one of the most sensitive films in the world. Irreversible is not likely to be a normal film where you got to experience an immersive cinema of sore reality.  Gaspar Noé, director of Irreversible, kept the film more alive with its vengeance, extreme violence, brutal depiction of rape, suffering and love. Gaspar Noé’s filmmaking style in Irreversible is completely surrealistic and the film courses itself to the form of the darkest effect which is exalted in some way or other. Irreversible is an act of straightforward revenge that covers how miserably time changes life. The story unfolds backwards which is the unique treatment of the film, but in the linear structure, the story is about how the lives of Marcus and Alexandra change after Alexandra gets raped in a subway. The first act of the story uncovers how Marcus and Pierre rampage against the person who raped his girlfriend and beat him to death. The whole film was narrated in the reverse chronological pattern. 

The film is unique in its narrative format which is a very unconventional way of filmmaking. Importantly, a film’s flavour is conveyed in its narrative structure and in that case, Irreversible has to be on the shelf of significant films. The story’s movement towards the beginning is very fluid and aesthetic. The lead actors Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel had done tremendous work within their scope of performances. Particularly, the performance of Monica Bellucci is a crucial part of the film. She just edged the film to its end and what she does is the performance of versatile and adaptable nature for the character of Alexandra which has to be considered as the bold attempt. The brutal single-shot scene of subway rape is very barbarous and very disturbing to watch but Monica Bellucci just refined the heat of circumstance in the scene through her finest performance. 

The film is constructed with single shots from scene to scene which gives a continuous flow of travel with the story although the story is visualised backwards. The cinematography is something very unique where it will give dizziness in the early stage of the film which will take time to get adapted for this kind of cinematography. More or less, the camera technique played an important role in transiting the energy and rage within the audience. It may look like the form of guerilla filmmaking method but still, the film contains a very unique way of making the audience get their eyes out of the screen and say, “What is happening here?” After adapting to the story narrative and cinematography the film takes the audience to the next level of horrifying violence. Most of the audience won’t get to adapt and see this kind of extreme violence which will definitely affect their mood or even get them zoned out for some time. Particularly, the screenplay is handled very differently which became an added advantage for the flow of the story. The screenplay is not much more than extreme violence and drama sequences between the characters. Editing is handled in a sequential manner between the scenes because the scenes are taken in a single shot and become a scene to another. This film is not for everyone and one who is deep down to watch films in the world forum can give out a try to watch this film with a heart of great tolerance. The film gives a strong reference to time and fate. How life is twisted and played out when time and fate change their course to the most bloody hell. The most brutal scenes from the film cannot be watched unless one has tolerance because it is the most disturbing film of all time.    

The final scene of Marcus and Alexandra is the most emotional sequence in the film - their intense deep romance with a subtle eroticism is very gratifying to watch but at the same time, the scene gives sadness within itself because we get to know what was happening beforehand.