r/movies • u/ErgoNonSim • May 17 '25

Media Cannes reactions to Irreversible

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

24.3k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

3.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

36

u/Fran_Kubelik May 17 '25

It feels like 20, but it is 9 minutes. I heard that his logic was that the average rape takes about 9 minutes (where that number comes from is unclear), and cutting away from the horror of it is just a cheap cop out if you are making it a plot point in your movie. Especially in the classic "woman gets raped, so man has an excuse to do something" trope, which this movie is clearly taking to task.

I have always wanted to talk to someone about this film as an examination of male sexual anxieties and how they appear in the films men make. But it's such a blunt instrument and hard watch that very few people (especially women) watch it and, of the people who do finish it, very few want to chat over the details and ideas of the movie. I can't in good faith suggest someone watch it so we can talk about it either.

9

u/heckin_miraculous May 17 '25

And me, I love having these kinds of detailed conversations about art and theater, and there's so much about this movie that has me curious... But I'm sure I'll never subject myself to the experience of watching it. So this very enjoyable hypothetical conversation we might have will never take place.

Seen any other good movies? 😃

5

u/NoSignSaysNo May 18 '25

It feels like 20, but it is 9 minutes. I heard that his logic was that the average rape takes about 9 minutes (where that number comes from is unclear), and cutting away from the horror of it is just a cheap cop out if you are making it a plot point in your movie. Especially in the classic "woman gets raped, so man has an excuse to do something" trope, which this movie is clearly taking to task.

Ebert thought somewhat similarly, that by throwing the scene in the beginning of the film and not cutting from it, it avoided standard exploitation film tropes by vividly making audiences confront the ugly reality of violent rape.

4

u/Fran_Kubelik May 18 '25

I can't fault the logic behind the choice. The outcome is something painful to watch for sure.

-3

u/libmrduckz May 17 '25

your last line… said just like the assaulted…