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Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon, Jo Prestia ... see more see more... , Gaspar Noe , Jean-Louis Costes , Stephane Drouot , Mourad Khima

Gaspar Noé's Irreversible utilizes the same storytelling technique used by Christopher Nolan in Memento and Harold Pinter in Betrayal. Consisting of about a dozen scenes, all shot in single takes, Irr... read more read more...eversible charts a disturbing night in the life of Marcus (Vincent Cassel), but presents the events in reverse chronological order. The audience eventually learns how the beautiful Alex (Cassel's real-life partner Monica Bellucci) is involved. The film opens with a violent altercation at a gay sex club and works backward to explain how and why the violence occurred. The actors improvised the vast majority of the dialogue starting from a four-page story outline. Irreversible was screened in competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

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80% liked it

41,962 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

119 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Gaspar Noe

Release Date: January 1, 2002

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DVD Release Date: August 5, 2003

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Stats: 4,226 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (4,226)

  • paulkoh110
    October 25, 2011
    paulkoh110
    Not a date movie! Its a hardcore french film about revenge and RAPE! Gasper Noe does not pull any punches when making this film about an evening gone wrong.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    September 2, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Human behaviour portrayed in it's most unpleassent form. Unlike real pointless shock-fests like Baise Moi here is a movie tackling very disturbing material in a far more focused and mature way. The main cast do a magnificent job, Miss Bellucci proofs she has not only the looks bu... read moret also the skills of a good actress.

    Certainly not for everyone, approach with caution.
  • fb619846742
    June 20, 2011
    fb619846742
    A nasty, hard to watch exploitation flick about a woman (Monica Bellucci) who is brutally raped and beaten, and how her boyfriend and one of her ex-es go on a violent rampage in order to find the one responsible for her assault. While you definitely have to give director Gaspar N... read moreoe points for competently telling his story backwards, this thing is an unpleasant, disturbing, and ultimately disappointing viewing experience. It contains without question the most brutal rape scene recorded in the history of film, but that scene in particular aptly sums up the movie's overall intention - to be unpleasant just for the sake of being unpleasant. This is a shame, since Belucci gives a courageous, strong performance and Cassel's shift in character is incredibly arresting. There is also some weird fascination with surrealistic aspects that are never really addressed appropriately, and it just seems out of place by the end of the film. Overall, very missable, and just a huge disappointment, when one considers that this could have been a searing, tightly constructed drama without having to go completely overboard (the rape scene is....9 minutes long - why?), or indulge in meaningless philosophical mumbo-jumbo that lead to nowhere.
  • RCCLBC
    May 9, 2011
    RCCLBC
    A very well done piece of cinema. Sucked me right in and left me anxious and intrigued to see what exactly set "all of this" into motion.

    While I know that this film is designed to keep you on edge and disturb your emotions...I felt that the rape scene went on for far too lon... read moreg. I actually had to get up and walk away, because I found it that disturbing.

    Aside from that horrific scene, there are plenty of other visions of violence, gore and sex to keep you on edge and feeling disturbed and (quite frankly) a little dirty.

    Not a film for everyone, but definately worth seeing if you are a fan of any of Noe's other work.
  • thefog1331
    March 12, 2011
    thefog1331
    Heartbreaking, disturbing and depressing it's a film I loved to watch (most of it anyway) but I never want to see it again. I hope Bellucci won some awards because wow does she deserve them.
  • axadntpron
    January 26, 2011
    axadntpron
    This film really affected me. Writing about it could never do it any justice. If you have the stomach for it, watch it. It is equally beautiful, mesmerizing, & flat out horrific. I understand the criticism, but I do see more there than just a succession of brutal images.
    Argue w... read moreith me if you want, but I think this is a pretty stunning piece of cinema.
  • itsjustme2004
    January 19, 2011
    itsjustme2004
    The constant camera spinning during this film is annoying and nauseating, not innovative, in my opinion. If the rotating camera doesn't make you ill, though, the disturbingly graphic violence, or raw hatred, probably will. I am not someone who is easily offended by the darker ele... read morements of humanity in movies, but this film forced me to turn away from the screen more than once. There was a good story here, and the fact that it was told backwards probably made it a wee bit easier to take as a whole (seeing as you are neither attached, nor sympathizing with the characters in any way when most of the uglier things occur).This had the potential to be an amazing film, but the nauseating camera work was too much for me.
  • ceWEBrity
    October 18, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Gaspar Noe's films - at least, the two of them I've seen - are provocative, cruel and challenging, assaulting the viewer on just about every level possible. If Enter the Void is a dark, turbulent dream, Irreversible is nothing short of a waking nightmare. It is completely uninter... read moreested in the metaphorization or obfuscation of the realities it depicts; you see a violent rape through the unflinching eye of the camera, a savage beating and the after-effects, the filterless rage of a man out for revenge. It would be one thing to insinuate all of these, through shadows or cutaways or third-party dialogue, but these images are committed to celluloid from start to finish. The only metaphor here is that these actions are fictional. The title "Irreversible" could mean an infinite amount of things, and I'm sure they will be argued over ad nauseam, just as this film has been. To me, the film is saying that these acts are there for us to see and nothing, neither backpedaling through time nor exacting violent revenge, will be able to undo their existence. Thus, Irreversible.
  • garyX
    September 9, 2010
    garyX
    A young woman is brutally raped in a subway tunnel provoking huge discussions between beret wearing chin strokers as to whether or not it's art. This film is most definitely well acted, particularly I'd have to say by Monica Belucci who I never really considered a great actress b... read moreefore, but she is totally believable which is why the ordeal she endures is even more difficult to stomach. The rape scene is truly horrific; I genuinely believe that sensationalism was not the aim, and its brutal realism is almost unbearable. But what of the rest of the film? The story is told in reverse, but I couldn't really see the reason why beyond disguising the minimality of the plot. Were we supposed to be MORE horrified by what we'd seen after we'd gotten to know some personal details about the victim? That makes little sense in the context of a film where realism rather than manipulation is supposed to be the key to the reaction to what we are seeing. I do believe that there was a point to making this film beyond commercial shock value, but whatever the message was, it is lost in a morbid sea of erratic camera movements and sexual violence. I could just as easily dismiss any attempts at intellectualizing it and just describe it as Cloverfield with rape instead of a monster. When I was at art college, a fellow student decided to illustrate the horror of rape, and how he chose to do it was draw, well, a rape. We thought it was a powerful and challenging piece of work at the time, but now I look back I see it was rather naive and immature to the point where it could be construed as another form of dumbing down; as if witnessing the act itself is the only way a viewer could understand that "rape is bad". This film reminded me of that illustration. It is easy to illicit a gut reaction; the job of art is to provoke thought. In that, this film fails. The sensation is rather more like having your nose rubbed in somebody else's filth.
  • guaybanex
    July 12, 2010
    guaybanex
    Intense and disturbing, yet captivating.

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Critic Reviews

Terry Lawson
May 9, 2003
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Extremely difficult to endure, and if you choose to endure it, it could leave you feeling angry and upset. Nevertheless, this is serious filmmaking, and Noe is a gifted filmmaker. Full Review

Bill Muller
April 24, 2003
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

A fascinating study in excess, a movie that seduces and repulses as it explores the merciless nature of fate.

David Edelstein
April 22, 2003
David Edelstein, Slate

There is nothing moral about Irreversible -- only sneeringly superior and nihilistic, like Johnny Rotten at his most fatuous. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
April 11, 2003
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

A genuine outlaw work of art. Full Review

Desson Thomson
April 11, 2003
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Fails because of its gratuitous rape and violence and also because of its pretentious and intellectually one-dimensional grounds, which make the violence at the end feel even worse.

Bob Longino
March 27, 2003
Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A sometimes repellent yet deeply moving film. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
March 21, 2003
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

There's less to Irreversible than meets even the most unblinking of eyes.

Richard Roeper
March 18, 2003
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

I hope people who go to see this don't walk out in the first ten minutes or after that scene, because I think you have to experience the entire film. And then you can decide whether or not you're offe... Full Review

Geoff Pevere
March 14, 2003
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

At once overwhelming and inconsequential, harrowing and banal, gimmicky and humourless, overheated and undercooked, this mega-hyped French movie may represent the ultimate triumph of cynicism in the g... Full Review

Edward Guthmann
March 14, 2003
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Is there a point to this spew, a cry against the mongrel violence of men? Or is Noe merely a sadist who enjoys inflicting ugly, pitiless images on his audience? Full Review

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    • Pierre: You're behaving like an animal. Even animals don't seek revenge.
    • Philippe: Time destroys everything.
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Irreversible Trivia

  • Sandurz: I can't, it's irreversible. Skroob: Like my raincoat . . .  Answer »
  • Which non-linear movie featured the tag-line 'Time destroys everything'?   Answer »
  • In the film "Irreversible" what does "Marcus" use to kill Philippe?  Answer »
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