Violence In Irreversible

Irreversible is a movie so violent and cruel that I think most people will find unwatchable. Generally the images and shots that a film includes can provoke feelings, emotions and sensations to viewers. In addition, in most of the films, viewers feel satisfaction and gratification in contrast to negative feeling such as torment and displeasure. In this one, the portrayals of rape, murder and mutilation are explored in depth and presented in such a manner that is so raw and unforgiving. As a result during the film audiences become physically ill(1).

The film begins with shots of the body being removed from the night club and tracks back through time to the warm and playful romance of the bedroom scenes. What differentiates this film from others is that it doesn’t build up to violence and sex as its payoff, as pornography would. It begins with its two violent scenes, showing us the very worst immediately and tracking back into lives that are about to be forever altered(2). The viewer realizes from the beginning that to know the future in detail would not be a blessing but a curse.

But by placing the ugliness at the beginning, we are forced to think seriously about the sexual violence involved(3). It almost seems that the film’s goal is to purposefully make its audience uncomfortable, with its excessive use of strobophobic lights in its opening credits and an equally as unsetting soundtrack(4). Moreover, the film continues down its path of reverse chronology, yet gradually starts to reveal a calmer side that varies greatly to the past