Irréversible (French: [iʁevɛʁsibl]) is a 2002 French arthouse horror film written and directed by Gaspar Noé. Starring Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel, the film depicts the events of one tragic night in Paris as two men attempt to avenge the rape and brutal beating of the woman they love. The film consists of an introduction, followed by 14 segments made to look like long takes. Each of these segments is either a continuous shot or a sequence of shots digitally stitched together to look like a single continuous shot. The story is told in reverse order.
Alex and Marcus, a young couple, wake up together and discuss their relationship, as well as an upcoming party, while naked. Marcus expresses concern that Pierre, Alex’s ex-boyfriend, was also invited because he “stole his girlfriend”, and Alex responds that he did not steal anything, because she is not an object and all decisions are up to her. Alex reveals that she had a dream in which she stood in a red tunnel that broke in half. The two discuss the possibility of pregnancy, and Marcus expresses hope before Alex takes a pregnancy test, the results of which are never revealed, but she seems particularly pleased.
On a public train, Pierre, Alex’s ex-lover, is also invited to the party, constantly arguing with Alex about his inability to satisfy her throughout their relationship, while Marcus appears unconcerned with their arguments. Alex explains to Pierre that he has always been too attentive to her, and that a sexual partner can feel and be aroused by the pleasure of another partner.
At the party, Marcus gets drunk and uses cocaine, much to Alex’s disapproval. She leaves the party, leaving Pierre to look after Marcus. Alex walks down a red pedestrian tunnel on her way back to the train and sees a transgender prostitute being attacked by a man. The man immediately turns his attention to Alex, anally raping her before brutally beating her unconscious.
After Marcus and Pierre see Alex being taken away by paramedics, they encounter Mourad and Layde, street criminals who offer to help them find the perpetrator. They use the prostitute’s identification card left at the scene to find her. Marcus berates the prostitute, Concha, and threatens to slash her face to expose her rapist, Le Ténia (“the tapeworm”), who frequents a gay BDSM club called Rectum. The two men are chased by other prostitutes; Marcus and Pierre jump into a taxi and drive off into the night. When the taxi driver is unsure of Rectum’s whereabouts, Marcus attacks the driver, stealing his car.
The two eventually find Rectum, with Pierre reluctantly following Marcus. Leading the charge, Marcus gets into a fight with a man he suspects is Le Ténia, who eventually breaks his arm before attempting to rape him. Pierre comes to the rescue and beats the man to death with a nearby fire extinguisher while the man’s companion, the rapist, watches on in amusement. Marcus is taken out of Rectum on a stretcher while Pierre is arrested by the police. Meanwhile, in a nearby apartment, a man named Butcher tells a friend that he has been arrested for raping his daughter before ignoring the commotion going on outside.
