simon-psykolog The story is told in reverse....This is not just some artistic pseudo aspiration but something that makes a very interesting difference. Because of the reverse order you already know some of the consequences for what is going on. So instead of trying to figure out what will happen you wonder about what has already happened. I found that refreshing - it gave me a feeling of watching it more intensely.The violence and sexual aberration brakes every filmic scale....Was it necessary to depict the horror that can be involved with sexuality in such an extreme way...? How to judge this? I have always thought that showing scenes with intense violent content could be done very effectively in a subtle manner if you have to do with a very skillful director. But not this time. The part of the story that takes place in the nightclub "Rectum" is absolutely brilliant. The dominant red colour that blends with the shadows and erases every idiosyncratic feature of the faces and only lets the lust and perversion shine through building up to a repulsive climax. It´s like taking the trip down to the perverted Freudian "id" where no morality or known norms seems to exist. The super-ego has been cleaved. Scary and strangely fascination at the same time.Then the rape scene.... Was it to be endured because there was actually something new about the dangerous mix of sexlust and aggression that could be learned? Or was it just a director who wanted to provoke? I had to mute the sound and go further away from the screen in order to see it. If you have the slightest experience with somebody who got too "close" to you at a certain time in your life don´t watch this scene...! Don´t!The first half part of the story....Here the atmosphere is permeated with joy, harmony and humour with the couple, that later will go through the living hell, teasing each other. These scenes delivers a sense of tragedy as they are watched with negative sign.I wish I could rate this movie on another scale than good/bad. I am not through thinking about it and still watches different scenes.Regards Simon

atomicgirl-34996 Normally, when I write a review, I just write about my feelings about the movie. But people have been so off the mark in their interpretations that I just felt like I had to speak up because everyone is either LOVING the movie for the wrong reasons or HATING the movie for the wrong reasons. So let me try to explain as best as I can what themes this movie was exploring:1. Barbarism is Toxic Pierre was the sensitive, sweet nice guy all evening who hated Marcus' violent behavior and kept begging him to turn back away from his revenge fantasy. Pierre was so disgusted by Marcus' behavior that he even called him a caveman and an animal. Yet he was the one who wound up savagely killing a man, not Marcus. Why? First Marcus kept bullying him and calling him gay at the party. Later, he was exposed to both the rabid homophobia and racism of both Marcus and the two thugs for hire as they attacked a Chinese cab driver and slashed a transsexual. Even though Pierre was above the violence, thuggery, homophobia and racism, the barbarism was so toxic that like a poison, it wound up infecting him before he even realized what was happening. By the time he did, it was too late. So this is the first theme of the movie. Even if you are by nature a tolerant, nonviolent, civilized person, if you're exposed enough to barbaric behavior, you can become impacted by it.2. Tragedy and Evil Impacts Everyone, No Matter Who You Are Irreversible did this very strange thing where it started out looking dark, brown and muddy and then, as it progressed, became more colorful and cheerful until it faded to white. So we get this picture of Alex's life being portrayed as oh, so innocent and sweet like a Disney cartoon, and The Rectum's victim's life as being dark and disgusting. The point was to contrast Alex's "acceptable, wholesome" life with that of the Rectum victim to say that evil and tragedy doesn't play favorites. Anyone can be a victim, whether you are a young, beautiful, popular affluent woman or an outcast hated by society who lives out a debauched life of "sin" in the seedy underbelly of BDSM clubs. 3. Tragedy Can Happen at Any Time Many people wonder what the point of having Alex be pregnant was all about, and on a gorgeous spring day. Well, the point was to say that tragedy can happen at any time in your life. Tragedy doesn't say, "Oh, it's a beautiful day today and you just got some great news. Think I'll wait for you to have a bad day and when it's gloomy and raining outside!" It can strike whether you're having a great day or whether you're having a lousy day, whether it's sunny outside or raining.4. There's No Such Thing as FateAlex had a dream that morning that seemed like a premonition of her rape. Later she suggests that she believes in Fate. Irreversible says this isn't true, that what we call "fate" is a matter of "accident"--in other words a series of bad timing, decisions and chance happenstances that, had they played out a little differently, would've completely changed the course of events.This is what the whole time jumping "gimmick" is about. Every time the movie jumps back in time, it jumps back to a specific moment when, had the characters done or said something differently, would've averted Alex's rape and The Rectum murder. For example, the reason why the party scene starts specifically at the part when Marcus does coke is that if he hadn't done that line of coke, he and Alex wouldn't have had the fight that led her to leave the party by herself. BTW, the guy who shows up at the underpass as Alex as getting raped? That was showing that her rape wasn't fated; it was a classic case of bad timing. The guy was a pedestrian who had entered the underpass just moments after Alex did. Had Alex entered the tunnel just a few minutes later than she had, he would've been there right behind her and La Tenia wouldn't have touched her. Again, the point being that even at the last minute, Alex could've avoided the rape, that just because she had a premonition that morning doesn't mean it was "in the cards" and she was doomed as soon as she woke up that morning.5. You Can't Undo the PastWhenever Irreversible "time jumps", it jumps to a moment in time when, had the characters acted and behaved differently, would've changed everything--had Alex not listened to the idiot at the stoplight who told her to take the underpass, had Marcus listened to Pierre every time he begged him to turn back from his revenge mission, had Marcus not done coke, so on and so forth. We look at all the things they could've done differently that night and go, "Aw, if only..." But the problem is that time isn't reversible. That's what the man in the beginning of the film means when he says, "Time destroys everything." That's why the movie is called Irreversible. What's done is done. Irreversible-10/10 In any event, whether you loved the movie or hated it, I urge you to reconsider your feelings based on this review. Irreversible is a lot more nuanced than lovers are giving it credit for and a lot less nihilistic than haters think it is. It is very thought provoking, and I hope that maybe some day, more people will take a second look at it and try to see what Noe was trying to explore with this movie.

Eric V. To put it as simply as possible - Irreversible is about a tragedy. What Noe managed to achieve here is to shake up the viewer with various methods, that add a layer of immersion above everything else. The acting is beyond superb - as most of the dialog is actually improvised. The cinematography is simply mind blowing - unlike ANYTHING I have ever seen before. The way the director chose to sequence the scenes is one of the most original and dare I say necessary executions in recent memory. The pulsating soundtrack and the incredible disorienting camera work are perfect and are integrated into the film in a professional manner that doesn't make it cheesy or unneeded - the contrary is true. It is not at all an easy watch - but if you are up for it, you will enjoy one of the most delicate and gut wrenching creations of our time.9.5/10 - nearly flawless.

Gazes_Shall_Collide First of all, don't be fooled; this movie is nothing near shocking. This movie is a really poor work of ''art'' compared to movies like A Serbian Film. It's absolutely homophobic, which is well depicted through the obnoxious main character, Marcus, and the deviant nature of trans and homosexual folks shown in the movie. The character development is so poor that I felt no sympathy for any of the laughable main characters.The only thing shocking about this movie is the awful shaky camera that got me a headache. Overall, don't waste your time on this false ''art''.