IRREVERSIBLE (2003)I'm really not a fan of this whole "movie in reverse" thing to begin with. It seems like a cheap gimmick to try and trick people into thinking a movie is brilliant, and it usually works, because
MEMENTO (6/10 or C+) and
IRREVERSIBLE both got some great reviews. Hmm, I wonder if
GIGLI was played backwards if it would have gotten better reviews? Probably not, but I swear you could put anything backwards and people would eat it up, finding it brilliant. However,
IRREVERSIBLE takes the whole reverse thing to a new awfulness. The first half of this movie is one of the most annoying, boring, and just plain stupid things I've ever witnessed on screen. I was ready to call this one of the worst films of all time. I almost didn't want to finish it, but at the same time I wanted to just so I could say that I watched the whole thing and my opinion would be taken more seriously. So I sat disgusted, constantly rolling my eyes at what a hateful, moronic film this was. The lighting and shaky camera work couldn't have been worse. I don't know if I've ever seen such annoyingly awful camera work. It's supposed to be "cool" and help the feel of the movie, but I could have done without it. It made the movie much less watchable. I couldn't help but think about all of the people that probably rented it and shut it off during the first twenty minutes or so.
After having to sit through what is probably the worst lighting and camera work I've ever seen, and having to hear what is probably the most number of times I've heard the word "fag" in one movie, we're "treated" to a disturbing rape scene. Don't get me wrong, this scene is disgusting and awful to watch, yet at the same time, this scene is almost comforting, because the camera is finally still for the first time in the movie and you can actually tell what the hell is going on. This is a horrible scene to sit through, but after sitting through everything before this, it was a relief to be able to see what was going on for once, and this of all places, is actually where I started to get interested in the movie.
I couldn't have hated the first half of this film more. It was excruciating to sit through. I didn't know a movie could be this torturous. But then the second half comes along, and it's actually pretty good and interesting, at least compared to the first half of the movie (which is actually the last half, but the movie is backwards, so we see the last half first). It went from being one of the worst movies ever to one I actually got interested in, which was too bad, because I hate to not completely hate a movie with a first half as absolutely awful as the one here.
In my opinion, playing this movie in reverse only hurt it. The awful camera work and lighting we see in the first half is a big part of what makes the first half so horrible. But at the very least, it wouldn't have been so bad if it would have just started from the actual beginning and went to the end, instead of trying to be clever and go in reverse. If it just would have played from beginning to end, the awful first half wouldn't have seemed so bad. In fact, I even watched bits and pieces of the first half over again once the movie was over, and things made a little more sense this time around, and while it was still annoying, it wasn't quite as bad. But with it playing backwards, we start out not knowing or giving a crap about any of the characters, even kind of hating them. This serves no purpose except to annoy the viewer.
It's hard to find any of the performances of the main cast amazing, especially since we can't stand them for the first half of the movie, and it's only in the second half, which is the actual beginning, that we get to know the characters. Monica Bellucci was fine, but you kind of can't help but like her off the bat because you feel bad for her character having to get brutally raped. I couldn't stand Vincent Cassel during the first half, because his character, Marcus, annoyed the hell out of me. But then during the second half, even when he's being kind of a dick, I liked him at times. He even becomes pretty attractive during the second half. Sure, he acts like a jerk at times, but he did have his moments where he was kind of sweet. And towards the end (the beginning), it was nice to be able to have a good amount of time to admire his body. It was quite beautiful.
IRREVERSIBLE has me torn. Yes, part of it is unbelievably annoying and easy to hate, but the other half was actually interesting. I do think if I were to see it again I'd probably like it more, but I don't think I'll ever want to sit through this movie again. If I ever do it probably won't be as awful to sit through knowing exactly what is going on during the first half. On a whole though, this is an obvious exploitation film. And part of me can't help but think of it as a movie version of Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" music video, except MUCH more brutal and not nearly as cool. The very ending also goes back to annoying again, with an absolutely blinding flashing (which can be compared to a strobe light). This just wasn't necessary, and it hurt my eyes. But I'm just lucky I wasn't one of the unfortunates that had to witness this on a big screen. Now THAT would have been hell.
First half (the end): 1/10 (F)
Second half (the beginning): 7/10 (B-)
Overall rating: 5/10 (C-)
