'Climax' Review

To call filmmaker Gaspar Noé a provocateur feels like a bit of an understatement. With films such as Love and the shocking Irreversible under his belt, it's clear that Noé revels in pushing boundaries, breaking taboos, and taking audiences far from their comfort zones. All of those things are evident in Noé's latest film, Climax, which follows a French dance troupe as they celebrate on their last night of rehearsals only to discover that their sangria has been laced with LSD. Here Noé brings his usual cards to the table, while at the same time providing a refreshing entry to his filmography thanks to the power of dance.

Climax essentially feels like it's split in two halves. The first half begins at the end, as a character makes their way through the snow before collapsing into a demented snow-angel. We then cut back to the beginning where we watch some faux-audition tapes from the characters, before being treated to a dazzling dance number from the cast. The first half of the film spends a lot of its time establishing the characters and how they relate to one-another. Alternating between long takes, dance sequences, and one-on-one conversations, the characters are free to express themselves not only through their words, but also through their dancing. While some of the one-on-one conversations do feel a bit drawn out, they manage to ground these characters before things begin to go south in the next half.

The second half is where the descent into madness really kicks in. With long takes, tracking shots, and extremely dizzying camera movements, Noé and cinematographer Benoit Debie manage to make the world feel gradually distorted, echoing the minds of our acid-tripping dancers. The frequent use of tracking shots reminded me a lot of Darren Aronofsky's mother! which came out last year, and had a similar disorienting effect on audiences. Unlike mother! however, Climax is a film that feels very grounded in reality, making it all the more unsettling. As the film reaches its climactic orgy of chaos, you'll either find yourself hating it, or altogether hypontised by the madness of it all. Not only does the film purposely try to make your head spin, but there are several moments ranging from unnerving to downright shocking, that practically implore you to hate it. To call Climax a divisive film feels like more of an understatement than calling Noé a provocateur.

While dizzying camerawork and taboo-breaking subject matter aren't exactly new territory for Noé, the constant presence of dance breathes fresh air into the directors usual tropes. There is so much constant movement either in the foreground or background, that gives the film this wonderful sense of energy. This is very much down to the dancers themselves, who were supposedly given freedom to express themselves through their own language save for the opening number. This proves to be both dazzling and at times quite disturbing, as one scene sees a dancer contort himself into a variety of unsettling positions while standing in an empty hallway.

Like any dance troupe, Climax is very much an ensemble piece, however Sofia Boutella really does manage to stand out from the crowd. Not just because she's the only familiar face among the cast, but because she genuinely gives a powerful performance on both an emotional and physical level. One scene echoes Isabelle Adjani's infamous subway breakdown from Possession (which can be seen among several VHS tapes at the beginning of the film), where Boutella manages to really display the extents of her talents, both as a dancer and an actor. Many of the other dancers manage to stand out from the crowd and deliver equally memorable performances, Souhelia Yacob gives a particularly harrowing one in one of the films darker moments.

Climax is a nightmarish descent into insanity that deals with some fairly heavy subjects and goes to some very dark places. Noé thrives on making his audiences uneasy and unsettled, and with Climax he goes above and beyond to achieve this, ultimately succeeding. Although it says a lot that this is actually one of his tamer films, but don't let that fool you, this is definitely one that will split audiences down the middle. The use of varying types of dance is what makes Climax unique in Noé's body of work however, injecting an extremely dynamic sense of energy into the madness of it all. It's an experience that is just as dazzling as it is uncomfortable, and is by far one of the most disturbing films of 2018.