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I'd love to wholeheartedly throw my support behind Marq and Frank in this thread, because I think IRREVERSIBLE is brilliant on a visceral level and one of the few recent films that I can't get out of my mind.... but I don't think Noe is beyond reproach here. I wish I could link you to it, but registration is required, but LA TIMES critic Manohla Dargis did a splendid review of the film in which she dubbed Noe's half-baked nihilism "Nietszche for Numbskulls," or something to that tune. And I can't really disagree....I mean, "Time changes everything"???? "TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING"?????
Seriously, I'd think folks with as fine-tuned a bullshit detector as Frank, Marq, and orf would throw a giant-sized beverage at the screen and hit the floor rolling with laughter at such a naive, obvious notion. It's akin to David Lynch walking into frame during one of Frank Booth's tirades and declaring, "Bad People Do Bad Things!!!!" then disappearing from frame, a la Keenan Ivory Wayans' absurdist "MESSAGE!" appearances in DON'T BE A MENACE...
I can't help but think Noe is thinking he's being a lot more profound than he is, even if his technical skills and penchant for grueling imagery is certainly astounding. The movie's basic point is kind of a "No shit, Sherlock," and while we can certainly empathize with the characters, the dime-store wisdom their tale is supporting comes through as more than a bit obvious. It's to Noe's and the actor's credit that the movie stands well enough and is involving on its on, but the director's look-at-me asides -- the reversed credits, the totally unrelated side moments such as the beginning with the old men, the roaring bed of noise over strobe image at the end -- smack of a would-be "edgy" bully trying a little too hard to rub our noses in contrived unpleasantness.
I realize my above points are hardly original, but anyone with access to the LA TIMES, LA WEEKLY, or SLANT MAGAZINE reviews ought to give them a quick perusal for some nice readings of the film's and Noe's frustraing mix of visceral skill and weakness for snide pontification.
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