Pierre And Marcus And Alex example essay topic

Last year, Gaspar Noe's unbelievable film Irreversible was released. Being that I live in America and I don't often have the chance to hit up big time film festivals around the country, it took me a bit of time before I managed to catch it. Was it worth the wait? I think so. In fact, I think that in terms of the technical side of film, Irreversible is one of the best films I've seen in the past two years or more. The camera is unbelievable here -- it matches very well the emotions experienced by the characters on screen, and it matches the situations and sets as well.

But we " ll get into all that later... because you " re wondering what it's about, I'm sure. If you haven't heard of it, Irreversible is a rather simple revenge story that is told through a method similar to that of Memento -- reverse chronological order. The difference is that where in Memento, each reversed scene led directly into the scene previously shown. Irreversible only goes back in time enough to show us the meat of earlier events -- it doesn't need to show absolutely everything, just what we need to know. Of course it's far less complex than Memento and thus this is more than acceptable. Marcus is Alex's lover.

Alex and Pierre used to be lovers. Pierre and Marcus and Alex are all great friends. Le Tenia, a man who we can only assume is some kind of underground drug dealer or thug, rapes Alex and beats her. Marcus seeks revenge, with Pierre helplessly trailing behind him as his pleading with Marcus to stop do nothing but fuel his friend's lust for retribution further. Lost you yet? Yeah I didn't think so.

What makes this movie memorable and remarkable is that it's willing to show off the harsh realities of cold-blooded revenge, and it isn't afraid of showing us more than ten minutes of Monica Bellucci being violated by a sick, twisted human being. Irreversible has two of the harshest scenes committed to celluloid in recent years, and those two scenes in concert with great performances, great acting, and great cinematography make this film great. I do warn though, that the scenes in question are not for the faint of heart. After watching the murder of Le Tenia in the beginning of the film (and the end of the story), I couldn't help but think of an old story I'd heard about a young black man living in the South in the fifties. After bragging about having a white girlfriend, the girl's brother and his friends found the poor youth and killed him. In my Social Studies class in 8th grade we were told about this and shown a picture of the boy in life -- a handsome chap at that -- and a picture of him after his body was dragged from a river.

It looked as though his head were not a head, but a deflated, decaying, muddy football with a face drawn on it, and poorly at that. As Le Tenia reels (and flails and eventually twitches violently, then not at all) from each fire extinguisher blow to his head, all I could think of was that image -- the young boy, found dead. Skin flaps around on Le Tenia's forehead, and he moans, presumably for mercy, through a crushed a shattered upper jaw. His nose flattens and crushes, and his head compacts as Pierre (!) caves in his skull, until all that is left that is recognizable is Le Tenia's lower jaw -- the rest of his face has been's mushed in past that. It always struck me as odd that Pierre ended up doing the killing. Yes, Marcus was in danger, for Le Tenia had broken the man's arm and was threatening to anally rape him, but Pierre had been urging Marcus to leave the bar they were in.

He was BEGGING for Marcus to give up, he wanted to take him to see Alex in the hospital. Pierre has a great line that I currently remember, where he condemns Marcus' cold-blooded desire for revenge -- Albert Dupontel brings the character to life wonderfully, and I wish sincerely I had a friend like Pierre. The camera spins and gyrates uncontrollably at the start of the scene and once things get going it calms down but not enough to make us feel safe. Remember, the camera is matching the situation -- the confusion, anger, chaos, and hatred of Marcus.

The fear of Pierre. The entire bar feels rather hellish, as well, and the camera's movement reflects that as well. But in the end it's Pierre that has the fire extinguisher; in the end he's standing over the miserable form that is Le Tenia as he spasms in his death throes. He is even smiling a little, contentedly. I thought that maybe he was just saying what he was saying to try and convince HIMSELF that the killing would be wrong in spite of Le Tenia's misdeeds; I thought that maybe he did it to defend Marcus and somehow he got grim satisfaction out of the act.

I watched the film recently and after watching it through I came to the conclusion that Pierre realized that Marcus was putting more on the line by committing murder than Pierre WOULD be. At the finale, we see Marcus and Alex together in bed, walking around the apartment, etc, talking about this and that -- they are a young couple filled with dreams and aspirations, blessed with love for one another. Pierre doesn't have that and maybe he won't ever, even though he is such a fine man. After watching him triumphantly gaze down at Le Tenia, I realized that Pierre "sacrificed" himself to give Alex and Marcus a chance at having a future, for if Marcus took the fall for the killing there wouldn't be one. What kind of world would that be for Alex? What kind of world would it be for her child?

We do find out she is pregnant at the end of the film, after all. You could argue that perhaps Le Tenia's beating may have killed the cells that were slowly forming together to create what would, in nine months, become a new life, but assume that it didn't. Where would that family be without Marcus? After thinking about this I TRULY wish I had a friend so incredibly loyal as Pierre. Although that's not to say that he didn't commit the killing for revenge -- on some level I'm sure he wanted to see Le Tenia ruined and harmed just as he harmed Alex.

After watching the most brutal rape scene I've ever watched in my life, I can honestly say that the death-via-fire-extinguisher was appropriate. I talked about the camera being an asset to this film, and here is where it works best. But it simply sits on the floor. Which is what's incredible. The camera is as helpless as poor Alex as Le Tenia commences his anal violation. It doesn't move, hell it can't, it's riveted to her, and SHE can't move, now, can she?

And it's as complacent as the passerby who stops at the end of the hallway where the rape is committed -- and quickly leaves, not wanting to get involved. To think that Pierre had warned her not to go out alone. Each actor does a splendid job. After seeing The Matrix Reloaded (more like Refunded), I didn't think too much of Bellucci but she shines here. Watching her through the assault I felt like I was watching my own friend get attacked -- that's how much I cared about her character, a sweet, charming, young woman with obvious plans in her life.

It's why I could relate to Vincent Cassell's Marcus, who behaves as an enraged animal upon finding that Alex is being taken to the ER. To me, it seems as though Alex is the best thing he has in life, and although he seems to ignore her at the party before she leaves his reaction shows to us that he has nothing to lose (well, or so he thinks) since she's been so brutally attacked. Pierre, of course, plays a great best friend for both of them. Albert Dupontel should take a bow because he's earned it here. While I found the film excellent in the long run, it's probably not wise to view this film if you " re squeamish or if you have a hard time confronting things such as rape..