Climax (2018)
Gasper Noé climaxed a long time ago.
Presentation:
If you’ve watched experimental auteur Gasper Noé’s other films, you don’t need to watch this one. This film recycles the same techniques as his older films offering nothing new except for an interview format that should not have lasted 30 minutes. Once again, his gimbal steadicam cinematography is the main draw of the film as well as colored LEDs and one shot takes. The film is visually dim to fit its dark themes of a party gone wrong. The actors are mostly dancers and don’t hold our attention especially as the narrative pivots to a new character every 5 minutes. Noé attempts to be edge lord, proudly announcing this film and putting it side by side with other masterpieces like Suspiria and Possession. The best part of this film is the dance choreography, but like his other films there is no meaningful narrative except to spiral into despair.
Conclusion:
Maybe some will like this stoner flick if it’s the first or only film you’ve watched from Noé, but I think he has only cheapened his previous work with this shallow art house attempt. Meaningless conversations, no development, just bad things happening. The problem is Noé is primarily known for a singular floaty camera move, and when that’s your bread and butter you can’t innovate. So he just plugs and plays his cookie cutter style into a new situation of a collectively bad acid trip. As a standalone film this might be passable, but considering his filmography, long time fans will be jaded from shock factor so they are left with just Noé’s storytelling, which is terrible. It would have been much more interesting if he didn’t reveal who spiked the sangria, which should have been the main driver behind the narrative. There are two things of value in this film: the dancing and experience. But unlike his other films, the film only captures the chaos and not the internal experience of an acid trip, save for a metaphorical scene in the snow. Unfortunately no climax, just a dull recycling of camera techniques.
Recommendations
Gasper Noé climaxed a long time ago.