Considering the narrative structure of”Irreversible,” one might think that the DVD shouldhave been available for purchase before theatrical release. TheFrench Film starring Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel tells thestory of one crazy night out on the town, but starting with thelast scene first. Like a pornographic “Memento” on aneighth of mushrooms.

One of the first scenes involves two men searching for a manthat they haven’t seen before in a homosexual dominatrixclub. It ends astonishingly with a man getting his face bashed inby a fire extinguisher. The two men are Marcus (Cassel) and (PierreDupontel). As the story continues we find out that they are bothacquaintances of a beautiful woman named, Alex (Bellucci). Marcusis Alex’s eccentric current boyfriend, and Marcus the formerboyfriend who is still in love with her.

As the story backpedals we see Alex being rapped by one of themen seen at the dominatrix club. Digressing even more we are shownthe love that had already developed between Marcus and Alex. A lovethat is worlds away from the stories brutal climax, which we havealready seen.

Although it works as a gimmick, the backwards storytelling alsomakes the viewer think of the consequences that arise from actionboth passionate and subtle. The director Gasper Noe articulatesthese action by using long takes involving dizzying handheld andtaking shots.

The US DVD of “Irreversible” contains a commentarywith the Director and stars Bellucci and Cassel, and deletedscenes. It also has a Making Special Effects feature that displaysbefores and afters of the digital editing. Other than that the discis not partiuculalry spectacular, but it doesn’t have to be. Themovie itself is the main attraction.