The Good

The Bad

Alex (Monica Belluci) and Marcus (Vincent Cassel) are a couple whose story is told over the course of a fateful evening in a series of long takes. Told in reverse, the film completely disorients the viewer only to bring everything full circle by the final reel. With some of the most shocking scenes and fx ever committed to film, Irreversible to the stage for a new kind of film. One that not only challenges the audience but forces them to commit to viewing film in a way that they never have seen before.

Features

SPOILER WARNING -- THIS REVIEW GIVES AWAY MANY OF THE SECRETS OF THE FILMDeleted SceneOnly watched a little bit of these but they mainly focus on the relationships between the main characters played by Monica Belluci, Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel. Personally, I don't want to give away too much here but this movie really effected me. Told in a straight forward way it might still be as powerful and these deleted scenes, without the context of the whole film to watch them in felt a tad disjointed. I had just watched the film and then decided to go through the rest of the dvd features so it wasn't that bad for me. I honestly feel that after everything I had seen previously with this movie, the deleted scenes were almost unnecessary. This is a film that doesn't need anything else other then the movie on the disc. It is is that powerful. Stress & Outrage ClipsDidn't watch too much of this. I needed the effect of this film to remain with me and I didn't want to forget certain images that director Gaspar Noe put across. Lets just say that you watch this film and find yourself completely at odds with the Vincent Cassel character. You will then witness some things and wonder how in the hell they happened. Then you will see the 8 minute rape scene and it will hit you in the gut and make you wonder why in the hell you are watching this movie. Not because it is bad, it is just very real and very raw. The Making Of The Special Effects Feature Seeing Cassel's arm get broken in half and then seeing the man who broke it have his face literally smashed in I stated out loud during my screening of this movie, "My gosh, please stop." This film is hardcore and the fx are right in line with it. It was interesting seeing how certain shots and things were put together but as I stated, I really feel that IRREVERSIBLE is a movie you just need to experience on it's own. If you have read any of my other reviews then you know what a fan I am of extras, it's just this dvd was that rare film that benefited from not having that much illuminated by it's makers.

Video

Presented in 16X9 Widescreen (2.35:1) I was startled at how clear and crisp the image was after being compressed to dvd. Little did I know that I wouldn't want it to be so sharp once the meat and potatoes of the movie got underway. This film is highly stylized with many camera moves that reminded me of Bryan Singers first film PUBLIC ACCESS, but everything that Noe did serves the story and orients the viewer even though for the first 10-15 I was just lost as to what was going on.

Audio

French 5.1 Dolby Digital all the way. I am not sure what the difference between French and English sound is but the film is subtitled so I am sure that there is something there. It's funny because French films are often very dialogue heavy(the films of Eric Rohmer being some of my personal favorites), but I find that the images on screen say far better what the characters are trying to convey. Everything about this disc is top shelf and I must admit that I could've seen this film when it had it's theatrical release but I passed. As a result I missed out.

Package

Final Word

Okay, I can best sum up this film as MOMENTO on crack. I was blown away. When it began I was reminded of such films as CITY OF LOST CHILDREN(due to the dark exteriors) and I immediately didn't know how this film was going to fare to with me. Then the Cassel and Dupontel characters get into a gay club and at this point all bets are off. Why was Cassel so manic? Why was he trying to fight everybody? Just what the hell was going on? Then he finds the man he is looking for, a pimp and a fight ensues. At this point Cassel's arm is cracked in half. Dupontel rescues him by smashing the pimp's face in what seemed like about 60 times with a fire extinguisher. Each thud against the pimps cranium got louder and louder and I was very much driven to distraction.Shocked, I continued watching as we find out that Cassel's girlfriend played by Monica Belluci has been brutally raped. Then I remember reading about this movie and that it had an 8 minute rape scene. Basically, we see that Cassel is jerk and doesn't really treat Monica right and she leaves the party. This whole time, Dupontel is trying to straighten Cassel out and we only find out later that Dupontel used to be with Belluci's character. Upon leaving the party, Belluci is raped in such a way that I don't think I can ever watch that scene again. It was hardcore. Brutal. Not really stylized,it just made you the voyeur andand then you hate yourself for not either fast forwarding the movie or turning it off.After this, we continue to see more of the three character's relationship and the film ends inside a dream of Monica Belluci's character Alex, which is where the story really begins.I knew I was in for something when the movie started and even the credits rolled backwards. This told me that I was going to taken down a much different road then MOMENTO had traversed. Whether he wanted to or not, Gaspar Noe, really expanded on the whole idea that Christopher Nolan made popular. I knew from that moment on, this film would have no rules or barriers. It would just be and I was going to have to decide if I was up for the challenge.SEE THIS MOVIE. It is very important. Not because of the graphic scenes or even the structure, but for more the boldness of it's director and cast. I am still disturbed by this film. Some people I have talked to who have screened it have also been effected. One of them even had to turn it off. They had started the film at night and realized it might be better viewed during the day when one could get a respite from the harshness that IRREVERSIBLE brought to their living rooms.If this film doesn't have the makings of a cult classic then the whole genre is dead.