tl;dr at the bottom of this piece

Well, I definitely procrastinated watching this due to *the scene*, and I don't regret that. I wanted to be "ready" but nothing really prepares you for that goddamn red tunnel. Accusations of gratuitousness, vulgarity, callousness and even immaturity aimed at Noé probably have some truth to them. Was he trying to be edgy? I think it's safe to say, yes, but to reduce Irreversible (2002) to Noé's masturbatory navel gazing would be a mistake, in my opinion. I have to stress though, I totally understand why people find this unwatchable.

That being said, how everything is framed here is going to drag my mind back to this film. Like Memento (2000), the reversed timeline plays a crucial role in the telling. [spoiler]Instead of the men riding to commit to the act of revenge after the rape, we have them (well, specifically Marcus) pushing themselves on other women and then Alex herself (chronologically backwards). In fact, she leaves the party in the first place because she's made uncomfortable by Marcus. Even as Pierre says farewell to Alex he is lusting after her.[/spoiler] Therein lies the shame and guilt that spurs them both along in the first (last) half. What's more is that we have the illuminating conversation between Pierre and Alex, now ex-lovers, talking candidly about their sex life in front of Marcus (who quietly chuckles throughout). In short, Alex tries to make Pierre see that good sex is reciprocal, and that if the man is not enjoying himself then the woman can't enjoy herself. This statement is a sick twist of irony, given what we have just witnessed in the tunnel. Of course, Alex tries to amend her statement by saying that there's a je ne sais quoi to sex; something that she can't put into words (she does say that after years of talking sometimes you just have to fuck). That very je ne sais quoi is illucidated by the negation of the rape. Whatever happened in that tunnel, we can all agree that it was not "good sex".

I've read some reactions to the film in comment sections and reviews on this site and I think these strong negative responses are absolutely valid. I don't see this as a misogynistic film though, quite the opposite. It shows in brutal totality what one man is capable of, and then cuts to other men not doing *the same* thing, but acting in ways that absolutely suggest that under the right sociological circumstances, they would. Instead of realising this fact, these men other the rapist and seek to kill him, as if to emptily emphasise that they're *not* him. The message, to me, is that vengeance does not redeem, and Marcus' urge to get revenge is in the end emotionally recursive. What comes of it other than more pain and a descent into what looks like hell itself?

The first half of this movie means that you can't watch the second half passively, even though your brain is begging to switch off and retreat.

In the final scenes, [spoiler]in Alex's apartment with Marcus playfully broaching the subject of anal sex with her, the film is screaming at you to understand that there's something deeply wrong in the gender status quo, and it's not coming from women. That the assaults start very small, subtle, and with a smile. Even as they are in each other's arms, lovingly, Alex is trying to explain to Marcus something that should be so basic and elementary that I scoffed audibly. She's telling him that she's not something to be stolen from Pierre, she's not a thing to be taken and that she made the decision.[/spoiler]

I think this is a begrudging 9/10. I hate to love to hate to give it what it deserves. Honestly I prefer Enter the Void (2009) and that's a worse film no matter which way I slice it. It makes Lux Æterna (2019) look innocuous and futile. Will I watch Irreversible (2002) again? Odds are, no, and if I do, it will be alone, again. Don't know if I could sit with anyone on planet earth watching the tunnel scene.

tl;dr [spoiler]if you can stomach graphic rape, then this film has a lot to offer in what it's saying. if sexual assault triggers you in any way do not watch this film, it's simply not worth it.[/spoiler]