Tuesday, March 11, 2003

Irreversible (2003)

Infamous, controversial-as-all-getout French film seems to divide people into love-or-hate camps. So why am I so lukewarm about it? It's certainly a provocative and skillful work of art. Especially near the end of the film, where the shocks are traded for tenderness, Gaspar Noe shows that he might some day develop into a great filmmaker. But it's also difficult for me to see this film as anything but attention-procuring posturing. Try as the film (and some of its more eloquent defenders) may, I'm not convinced the film is actually about anything. Yeah, I know, "Time destroys all things." But if you're going to make a film with that particular thesis, it might work better if the film's events didn't take place over a matter of hours. See, the only message I can get out of this film is "Life is cruel." Which, to me, doesn't seem to justify a stark, unblinking nine-minute rape scene. (Incidentally, I didn't find it as difficult to watch as everyone has said. So maybe I'm sick and evil.) Okay, Gaspar, you're talented. And yeah, life's cruel. So what? Get a helmet. (Addendum: My opinion is likely to change upon a second viewing. [NOTE FROM A LATER DATE: It sure did.] And, if you've seen the film, you owe it to yourself to check out Theo Panayides's lucid review, as well as his insanely perceptive follow-up.)

Grade: B-

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