Irreversible (2002)
"Irréversible" (original title)

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass.

Director:

Gaspar Noé

Writer:

Gaspar Noé

Stars:

Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Monica Bellucci	...	Alex (as Bellucci)
Vincent Cassel	...	Marcus (as Cassel)
Albert Dupontel	...	Pierre (as Dupontel)
Jo Prestia	...	Le Tenia (as Prestia)
Philippe Nahon	...	L'homme (as Nahon)
Stéphane Drouot	...	Stéphane (as Drouot)
Jean-Louis Costes	...	Fistman (as Costes)
Michel Gondoin	...	Mick (as Gondouin)
Mourad Khima	...	Mourad (as Khima)
Hellal	...	Layde
Nato	...	Commissaire
Fesche	...	Chauffeur Taxi
Jara-Millo	...	Concha (as Jaramillo)
Le Quellec	...	Inspecteur
Giami	...	Isabelle

Storyline

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass. Her boyfriend and ex-lover take matters into their own hands by hiring two criminals to help them find the rapist so that they can exact revenge. A simultaneously beautiful and terrible examination of the destructive nature of cause and effect, and how time destroys everything.

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Plot Keywords:

underpass | night | revenge | rapist | bashing in someone's face | 

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Taglines:

Le temps détruit tout - Time destroys everything

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Spanish Italian English

Release Date:

22 May 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

Irreversible

Filming Locations:

Buttes Chaumont, Paris 19, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,626 (Hong Kong) (19 December 2003)

Gross:

$4,626 (Hong Kong) (19 December 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

120 Films, Eskwad, Grandpierre

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The rapist's genitals, seen after the rape, were added digitally.

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Goofs

When Alex walks down the stairs of the tunnel, the knot of her dress around her neck and her hairstyle change after the camera shows the sign "passage" and comes back to Alex's back.

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Quotes

Marcus: [dancing with Alex] Say my name... Marcus... Marcus...

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Crazy Credits

Every person mentioned in the credits is listed only with their surname.

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Connections

Edited into Final Cut: Hölgyeim és uraim (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 7 in A Major op. 92"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven (as Beethoven)
Koka Media

User Reviews

Hits you in the face like a ten ton hammer!

Holy Macaroni! Believe the hype, folks...this really IS one of the most shocking, confronting and raw movies ever made! It actually is one of those rare purchases that makes you wonder what the role of cinema is in modern society. Irréversible certainly can't be classified as 'entertainment', that's for sure. It merely looks like a brutal eye-opener, highly unpleasant to watch at times and it sometimes makes you even feel ashamed to be human! Some of the stuff here goes beyond your most feared nightmares and could easily provoke depression, anti-social behavior and anxiety among influential viewers. It's real-life drama and that makes it so powerful and shocking. Irréversible is told backwards, 'Memento'-style if you wish...only it's a lot more effective here as it was in Memento, which actually was a pretty boring and extremely overrated movie. This very simple backwards-structure aspect gives Irréversible the opportunity to implement a couple of unique and rarely seen style elements. The first half hour (which actually is the end of the story) smacks you in the face right away sets the tone for a non-stop, raw experience. Also, you don't really get to know the characters until the last chapter (which is actually the beginning of the film) The characters are a riddle to you constantly and you can't symphatise with any of them, since you just know too little. Through wild camera movements and simplistic techno-music, a claustrophobic and horrifying atmosphere gets created and the violence is really hard to digest. The infamous scene in which Monica Belluci brutally gets raped is one of the most perverted things I've ever seen. It seems to go on forever and you can really visiualise the painful hell the poor girl is going through. I'd call Irréversible a successful combination of ancient, rough exploitation and modern art-house film-making. The brutality portrayed here is typical for the euro-shock cinema but the stylish shooting lifts it up to Cannes Festival material. Cult as pure as it comes!