Gaspar Noe Does It Backwards

Inside Irreversible

Words: Holly Willis

When Gaspar Noe's new film Irreversible premiered at the Cannes Film Festival less May, more than 200 viewers fled from the screening room, with some even requiring oxygen. But that's nothing new. Noe's earlier film, I Stand Alone, from 1998, was both revered and hated, and sparked similarly visceral responses. Dubbed "the most shocking, controversial film of the year," the movie nevertheless earned the Critic's Week Award at Cannes while sparking widespread complaints about misogyny, racism, violence and overt sex -- the film includes snippets of hardcore porn, as well as scenes so appalling that they're preceded by intertitles urging more squeamish viewers to run for the exits (many did). Noe's new film is again a mix of filmmaking bravado and shock tactics. "I like putting on the screen the things that scare me the most," he explains, adding that he is less afraid of being killed than in losing control and harming someone else. Noe creates this sense of helplessness in the throes of violent passion in his new film in part through the driving force of the camera, which moves relentlessly through space in sequences that all seem to be single shots. The opening scene, for example, is made up of at least 30 shots sewn seamlessly together in post production so that they appear to be a kinetic, crazed single take. The film's 12 scenes are then arranged in reverse order, adding to the story's sense of chaos as we follow lovers played by Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel through a harrowing evening. Altogether, Irreversible, which opened recently in New York and LA, is shocking, and brilliant.

Read more about the film, including notes on the soundtrack crafted by Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter, in the latest issue of RES.