Taglines: Life is a short party that will soon be forgotten.
Vortex begins with what are usually a film’s end credits, but unlike “Irreversible,” his 2002 provocation, this movie does not unspool backwards; the tail end is presented first because this is a movie about endings. Its dedication is “To all those whose brains will decompose before their hearts.”
The unnamed couple in the movie are introduced by the years of their birth, which we will see matches the birth years of their embodiers—1940 for Dario Argento, 1944 for Françoise Lebrun. We first see them on the outdoor patio of their Paris apartment, drinking a genial toast. It’s the sole moment of serenity we’ll witness between Him and Her. Noe also presents a 1964 video of French singer Françoise Hardy singing the winsome tune “Mon Amie la Rose” and somehow here the chanteuse’s fresh-faced beauty is itself heartbreaking. And from here the movie doesn’t let up.
Vortex is a 2021 independent psychological drama film written and directed by Gaspar Noé. The film premiered in the Cannes Premiere section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. It stars Dario Argento as a father and author, Lui, his first leading role, alongside Françoise Lebrun as his wife, Elle, and Alex Lutz as his son, Stéphane.
The film received acclaim from critics and audiences, with particular praise for Noe’s direction and writing, performances, emotional power, scope, ambition and execution. In August 2021, the film sold to Utopia for US distribution. It was released at the IFC Center on April 29, 2022, followed by an expansion to the rest of the US on May 6, 2022.
Vortex (2022)
Directed by: Gaspar Noé
Starring: Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun, Alex Lutz, Kylian Dheret, Kamel Benchemekh, Corinne Bruand, Nathalie Roubaud, Nicolas Hirgair, Philippe Rouyer, Jean-Pierre Bouyxou
Screenplay by: Gaspar Noé
Production Design by: Jean Rabasse
Cinematography by: Benoît Debie
Film Editing by: Denis Bedlow
Costume Design by: Corinne Bruand
Set Decoration by: Nathalie Roubaud
Art Direction by: Anna Prat
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Wild Bunch (France), Utopia (United States)
Release Date: May 6, 2022
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