| Irreversible |
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| The first film of Gaspar Noe to screen in Britain
was 'Seul Contre Tous' ('I Stand Alone'), starring Philippe Nahon as 'the
butcher', an angry, alienated man, whose acts of brutal transgression during
the course of events included repeatedly kicking his heavily pregnant wife
in the stomach, and having sex with his own retarded daughter. Nahon appears
briefly again near the beginning of Noe's latest film, 'Irreversible', this
time playing 'Philippe' (Nahon's own forename), a character whose story
seems strangely similar to the butcher's. Lying stark naked on a bed, he
confesses that he has slept with his daughter ('She was all I had, nothing
left...'), only to be presented by his (fully clothed) companion with the
consoling words 'There are no bad deeds, just deeds'.
Which is to say that there is a certain continuity in Noe's works, and although 'Irreversible' does not tell more of the butcher's tale - Nahon disappears entirely from the film after its first five minutes - it is still full of the shock tactics and visceral provocation for which Noe has become notorious. Mark my words: if you have a weak constitution, or a low tolerance for extremes of bludgeoning violence and savagery, then this film is definitely not for you. Or, as one character puts it in the heavily gendered language of the film: 'This is a man's business. No pussies allowed.' Which turns out to be true in more ways than one. It would be malicious to summarise the plot in anything but the most general terms, as part of the film's entertainment is the interpretative puzzles which Noe poses for his viewers, but suffice to say that it is a 'fucking revenge B-movie' turned on its head, with a highly individual artistic vision. Each of its nine episodes (and a coda) is filmed in one long, queasily handheld take - even a punishing twelve-minute anal rape scene whose unflinching length will leave viewers feeling suitably violated. These long shots, and the crude, colloquial dialogue (also by Noe), give the film a life-like, documentary feel, but in fact it is highly contrived, with even the most casual-sounding lines contributing to a tapestry of thematic threads running from one episode to the next. Noe is unquestionably very talented, but subtlety is not one of his strong points. By the time the film is over, you may well feel that you've had his ideas repeatedly rammed down your throat - or indeed up your arse. The first few episodes of 'Irreversible' feature strictly men only (chiefly Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel and Jo Prestia), and its thematic concerns are male sexuality, male anger, and the terrible, destructive atrocities which men can commit when they follow their bestial instincts. Yet it ends not with men, but with a woman (Monica Bellucci), and a wistfully impossible glimpse into what the world might have been like if it had conformed instead to the fantasies of women. Disturbing, challenging, and better than you might think. Anton Bitel, 22.01.03
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