Irreversible is the second full-length feature by the Franco-Argentinean director, Gaspar Noé. Employing a reverse chronological timeline, it depicts a horrifically brutal rape and assault on a woman, and explores the repercussions as her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend hunt down the culprit to exact violent revenge.
Classification issues
- Violence
- Scenes of strong violence include a man's head being bludgeoned repeatedly with a fire extinguisher.
- Language
- There is very strong language ('c**t'), and strong language ('f**k', 'c**ksucker'), as well as milder terms such as 'whore', 'bitch', 'pussy', 'shit', 'crap', 'ass' and 'slut'. Racist, homophobic and transphobic terms are used, including 'chink', 'slant eye', 'faggot', 'queer' and 'tranny'.
- Sex
- Pornography plays on screen in the background during a sequence in a nightclub. In other scenes, people are engaged in various sex acts including bondage and oral sex. These scenes include genital nudity.
- Sexual violence and sexual threat
- There is a prolonged scene in which a woman is brutally and sadistically raped, then beaten savagely.
- Additional issues
- A man snorts cocaine at a party.
Cinema classification
Irreversible came to the BBFC for a cinema classification in September 2002, carrying ahead of it a reputation for disturbing and dividing audiences.
Before being submitted to the BBFC, the film competed at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2002, where it was nominated for the Palme d’Or. During the screening, over 200 audience members walked out, whilst a handful reportedly fainted and required medical attention – but those who stayed the course gave the film a five minute standing ovation.
The film was seen by a number of Examiners, as well as by the Director at the time, Robin Duval, together with the BBFC Presidents. There was strong support for passing the film uncut at 18, despite many Examiners finding it to be both challenging and gruelling.
UK classification considerations were focussed around two key scenes:
a fatal attack on a man in a club, at the end of the lengthy opening scene, where a fire extinguisher is used to smash the victim’s head into a bloody pulp
the extended, traumatic rape of Bellucci’s character, Alex, in an urban underpass
The earlier of the two scenes is unusually explicit, with an almost seamless use of CGI effects and props to depict the violence in unflinchingly graphic detail. The BBFC considered the gratuity of the violence justifiable in the context of the narrative as a whole, and concluded there were no convincing grounds for intervention at 18. The film did not glamorise or promote such violence, nor was there any attempt to encourage audience complicity. Cutting the scene to reduce the number of blows or gory detail would have served no useful purpose regarding the impact of the scene on the audience.
The rape of Alex at knifepoint is notorious, primarily for the length of the scene – around nine minutes – although it is also very aggressive in tone. The assault is punctuated throughout by strong crude verbal abuse, and ends with the rapist bashing Alex’s face bloodily and repeatedly into the ground, below frame, and punching and kicking her inert body. The scene is filmed in ‘real time’, with a fixed camera. There is an almost complete absence of any cinematic devices such as editing to offer any relief from the horror, and the viewer is thus held hostage to Alex’s ordeal for a seemingly endless period.
A shocking or unpleasant viewing experience is not sufficient grounds in the UK for requiring cuts to material intended for adult consumption. However, scenes which eroticise or appear to endorse sexual violence have always been of particular concern both to the BBFC and to the UK public.
The BBFC therefore closely scrutinised the rape, weighing it against BBFC Guidelines and policy on sexual violence. Despite the unprecedented length of the scene, the BBFC considered that it was not the film’s intention to titillate, trivialise nor convey any impression other than that Alex’s ordeal is unequivocally appalling. Whilst there are occasionally explicit images of sexual activity at other points in the film, in this rape scene Noé has limited the scope for any potential audience arousal by showing minimal nudity and sexual detail, and by his positioning the camera to exclude any sense of audience participation in the action. There were fewer eroticising or ambiguous elements than in scenes of sexual violence in other adult films, such as Straw Dogs, A Clockwork Orange and Baise-moi, with no exploitative use of close up or slow motion shots. The focus of the scene is on Alex’s suffering and degradation – with not the slightest suggestion that she might be enjoying the attack. The rapist is portrayed as a hate-filled, psychotic sadist, with whom most viewers would find it almost impossible to identify or empathise.
The BBFC additionally sought advice from a clinical forensic psychiatrist about the potential effects on an audience of watching the whole film, and the rape scene in particular. She agreed that the scene is “a harrowing and vivid portrayal of the brutality of rape. However, it contains no explicit sexual images and is not designed to titillate”. The BBFC was therefore satisfied that no issue of harm arose in the context of a cinema release for adult viewing, and that no cuts were required before an 18 certificate could be awarded. The BBFC therefore passed the film uncut in October 2002.
Video classification
At the time of the film’s classification for cinema release, the BBFC noted that if Irreversible were to be subsequently submitted for video release, then the BBFC “will need to consider any potential for harm that might arise from the rape scene being taken out of context and viewed repeatedly”. A consideration for video release was indeed requested soon afterwards, in December 2002.
The BBFC again discussed whether there existed any possible grounds under the Video Recordings Act 1984 for recommending cuts to the film, given the greater ease and potential for underage viewing of material designed for home viewing. Meanwhile, Noé was reportedly vehemently opposed to making any changes to his work for the UK video market, stating his preference for instead withdrawing the film from the classification process altogether, should any changes be required.
Additional perspectives on the subject of possible cuts were provided by two further mental health specialists, who watched the film, and stated their expert opinions. Both agreed that, whilst undeniably disturbing, the film makes an important statement about the horror of rape, and represents a highly aversive portrayal of sexual violence. It was therefore considered “unlikely to be used as stimulus material, or evoke ‘copycat’ actions”.
The video release of Irreversible was consequently passed at 18 uncut in March 2003.
In 2021, the BBFC classified a re-edited version of the film – Irreversible - The Straight Cut – 18 uncut for sexual violence, strong violence, real sex and very strong language, for both cinema and home entertainment release.
