I've known about this film for some time now but haven't thought to check it out. Finally rented it this weekend. It turned out to be quite a unique revenge film.

The plot of the film unravels in reverse ala Memento (hence the title). However unlike Memento, the actions and motives of the characters are completely unknown. The story begins with two men being arrested at a club. In the following scene, we learn that the two men were arrested for beating a clubber to death for what appears to be know reason. As the film progresses, the events that lead up to the brutality are gradually revealed.

Irreversible is one of those films ala 2001: A Space Odyssey (which actually appears in the film) and Requiem For A Dream which leaves you feeling uncomfortable only to realize later that the film is actually great. At the start of Irreversible, I already hated it so much that I almost turned it off. The cinematography is so absolutely incoherent and obnoxious that you can barely tell what's going on. The camera swerves severely sideways and upside down with seemingly no sense of direction. The entire film is essentially one long tracking shot with transitions from one time zone to the next. Also, the scene at the club is filled with so gratuitous male nudity, sexual dialogue, and bondage gear, I felt like I was watching Caligula again, which I hated with a firey, firey passion. However, I became more invested in the film as I learned more about what was going on.

The more I learned about the story, the easier the film became to watch and eventually I saw the purpose of the chaotic style used earlier in the film. The beginning of the film presents the effects of revenge before anything is known about the character or even before any reason is given for why the revenge is taking place at all. By presenting a non bias view of revenge at the start of the film, you can see revenge as it really is. I thought this was brilliant.

Also, as the film progresses, the cinematography becomes drastically more steady, collected, and coherent making it easier to focus on what is happening onscreen. The remainder of the film is essentially character development. In another film, this probably wouldn't work as well but the remainder of the film actually changes the way you think about the characters based on the first impressions they gave and new information is given that kind of ups the anti of what's happened already. Also some pretty decent acting from Vincent Cassel and Monica Belucci.

All in all, a pretty solid film. It's pretty hard to watch at first but gets more and more easy as it goes along. This is the kind of film that challenges your sensibilities so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone but if you feel up to checking it out, I'd say give it a go.

i've heard a bit about this film myself but have not seen it yet. the film made quite a bit of noise and a stir when it came out for the 10 minute rape scene, and the fact that it is told backwards...

itd like to see it but its not the movie to see when you are in the company of either your g/f or your parents.

I watched it last year, I felt pretty uncomfortable, as I was watching it with my wife. The violence is so in your face, you feel like it's nothing more than an exploitation flick. But it's one of those movies that I would describe as a creeper, and as time goes by you realize there is more to it than meets the eye. The rape scene and the fire hydrant scene are hardcore. I reckon Le Tenia would have to be one of the worst / best bad guys I've ever come across in a film. I liked it when Marcus was looking for Le Tenia in the night club and someone says "He's bad news”. Has there ever been a greater understatement in a film? Lol.  

Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci are actually married in real life. I wonder what making this film would have been like for them.

In the FILMINK magazine, down here in Oz, a lot of the writers rated it as one of the best films of 2004; the Editor had it at number 1.

It was actually banned from the cinemas down here for a couple of months but the distributors got the ban overturned.