Rating of
3.5/4
Imperfect... but Truly Remarkable
Jeremy - wrote on 02/11/11
Despite being quite viscerally disturbing at times, a weak script, and occasionally bad acting. Enter the Void is among the most remarkable visual experiences I've seen in a film... ever. Colorful, emotional, affecting, bizarre, unsettling, and completely insane, director Gaspar Noe has flirts with genius but is damaged by an occasionally dragging visual narrative. The camera moves in ways virtually impossible at times (sometimes aided by CGI) and every moment of the film you can feel the Director's careful touch upon each aspect of the visual. Noe's goal has always been to deeply affect his viewers, in this aspect he does not fail at all. He shows the core of our tragic characters issues and then (like the title) we enter the void that they are falling into because of their immoral and emotionless lives. We are shown every aspect of life, loss, death, and rebirth through the gentle (a mother's love for their child) and even to the graphic (an unsettling view of an aborted fetus). Vulgar and shocking visuals combine with astonishing cinematography that pulls the viewer in and twists the mind in spirals. The subtle score is just enough to crawl under your skin while you are thrown through the skies of the Tokyo night. Though in whole it is certainly imperfect, this film is truly an experience unlike any other.
I would like to point out that anyone who has any sense of prudishness towards film should avoid this at all costs. It WILL shock, it WILL disturb, it does everything it can to elicit an emotional response (fright, pain, disgust, sympathy, sadness) and does through by any means. There are countless acts of Graphic Sex, an abortion scene, a disturbing car crash visited multiple times, and a "vagina-cam" viewing of sex (it's exactly what it sounds like... but CGI). It doesn't compare to the shocking level of Noe's previous film, Irreversible, but it still has its moments of disturbia.
If you decide that you are fearless and don't mind the shock. If you are willing to accept some poor acting and dialogue for stunning visuals and remarkable cinematography. And if you are brave enough to step into the insane and horrifying mind of Gaspar Noe, then I challenge you to Enter the Void. (Damn I almost forgot to mention that it has the coolest opening credits sequence of the past decade!)
