Irreversible - Cinematography Katie McMeans

Gaspar Noe's 2002 film "Irreversible" has a strong theme of the irreversible nature of time and actions. Shown in reverse, the film unfolds over the course of one night to reveal horrible events. The cinematography lends itself to the idea that "time destroys everything" in its hand held nature, the pace and length of shots, and in it's reverse chronological order.

The hand held aesthetic serves to give the entire film a shaky or uneasy feel, as if it was the shaky or unclear memories of someone recalling them. The length of the shots supports this idea of memory. The film opens (though this is the end effect) with a brutal fight scene. The scene is fast paced and unclear as if the whole thing happened so fast and in such a fit of rage that it can't even be remembered properly. This is also supported by the fact that this whole scene is shot as a POV. In contrast the brutal rape scene is one 7 min long shot and very clear as if this whole scenario or memory has been etched into the mind of the person recalling it.

The unease and pacing of the handheld shots supports the reverse cause and effect revealed by the cinematography. The purpose of the reverse is to take the viewer eventually back to the start, leaving them no room to wonder what will happen next, driving home the inevitability of the terrible events that have already took place.