Amidst the disaster that is the blockbuster movie lineup for this summer, I want to introduce some movies that are true hidden gems. For this piece I want to discuss "Irreversible," a film by the wild Gaspar Noé. "Irreversible" is not a recent film; it was made in 2002, but it provides a stunning, and difficult, counterpart to the large movies we see today. Fair warning though, this movie is extremely violent and horribly difficult to watch, and there is a rape scene.
"Irreversible," first and foremost, is told backwards. Not many other films have attempted this framework, besides Christopher Nolan's "Memento." In this film, the backwards structure is used to maintain the conflict-resolution structure most films have. The frank brutality of this movie does not allow for a happy ending, so instead we are instantly greeted with a gruesome scene of a man getting his head bashed in with a fire extinguisher. The camera does not swivel or falter, no matter how much you wish it to, and it is a very difficult scene to sit through. Going backwards, we are introduced to a revenge story, orchestrated by two men who are distraught and furious after Alex, a woman in their lives, is brutally beaten and raped. The first man is her current lover, Marcus, and the second man is her former lover, Pierre.
Going back further in the story and forward in the film, we see the rape scene. It is by far the most unflinchingly cruel rape scene I have ever witnessed in a film, and it is almost impossible to watch. Alex is raped and beaten in a subway tunnel by Le Tenia. The camera sits on the ground directly in front of the atrocious scene, static, and stays there for minutes that feel like an eternity, silently chronicling the horrific act. The unmoving camera forces the viewer to endure the rape scene, doesn't allow you to look away. Unlike most films, which would happily shove the scene and the issue under the rug for you, "Irreversible" forces you to confront rape in its most bare form: raw, animalistic, and cruel.
This scene, while difficult to watch, is so important in that it brings up an important critique of the way we as a populace view rape. We want to look away, pretend it doesn't happen. Noé calls your crap on this one, and even includes a lone man entering the far end of the tunnel, seeing the act, then promptly leaving. It is horrific, but it is a horrific exposé on how we all see rape.
Further, the film makes you sit there for another hour and process the rape scene as it continues going backwards. Now, you see Alex at a party with Marcus and Pierre, happy and having a good time. Now, Alex and Marcus are lazing around in bed with each other, having sex and discussing their love for each other. It is easy to see how fragile their happiness is, it is easy and sickening to see the foreshadowing to a darker time. Finally, we see Alex relaxing on the grass, not a care in the world, providing us with our happy ending.
"Irreversible" is not easy or pleasant to watch, but it is a brilliantly orchestrated film that challenges our ideas and conceptions of rape, happiness, and violence.
