1. Irreversible
Writer/director Gaspar Noe cemented his reputation for unflinching, bold film-making with this hugely controversial movie. So many words are thrown around when describing this film. Sad. Forceful. Depressing. Disgusting. Powerful. Horrific. Cruel. Nauseating. It is all of these things. Which is exactly what it sets out to be. As a depiction of brutal violence - and crucially, a challenge NOT to watch - it is probably unsurpassed. The premise is simple. A woman is savagely raped; her boyfriend and her ex decide to find the culprit and get some payback. The stroke of genius is that Noe tells the story backwards - so for the first third of the film, we are dragged into the darkest pits of human nature. As the story progresses (regresses), the tone becomes happier, ending with joyous news. Only, that's actually the start of a story and we got to see how it ends right at the beginning. Those first sixty minutes are perhaps the most disturbing moments in cinema history. There's a constant tone played over the soundtrack, pitched so that the audience feels nauseous throughout. There's nothing to enjoy as your eyes are assaulted by images you'll find literally unbearable to watch. The rape is a horrific nine-minute ordeal, so deeply unpleasant it defies description here. The subsequent/preceding attack on the rapist is a pneumatic assault with a fire extinguisher to the head - the volume is amplified as the blows rain down, making it actually painful to witness - resulting in a gory mess. Many will tell you they wished they'd never even watched the film in the first place. But then, you can't unsee what you've seen; you can never go back - and that's entirely the point of the piece. If you've never seen
Irreversible, consider this a warning. If you're in any doubt - don't look! Just as Pandora found out - you can't put the contents back in the box once you've let them out; the lid never shuts again. Sometimes, not knowing is best...