I might have to go bleach my eyes and splash my face with water really quick before I even attempt to comprehend how this film made me feel. Gaspar Noé's Climax is an unbelievably hallucinogenic and utterly nauseating trip through one long, drug-fueled night. Settled in the confines of a disturbing, abandoned school, this film might as well be the 4-D simulator for what taking LSD actually feels like. There is so much to be impressed about with this film, especially the cinematography and Noé's direction, but I couldn't help but feel that it was almost entirely shock value. Noé does an incredible job of transporting the audience to this nightmare realm but him writhing in the discomfort of it all seemed to be ostentatious. One thing for certain, though, is that I strangely enjoyed this movie just as much as I despised it.
Based on an apparently true story, Climax revolves around a group of young, French dancers in the 1990s who find themselves stuck in a school for rehearsal during a snowstorm. As they finish rehearsal on the last night and decide to throw one last party, they find out much too late that someone has spiked their sangria. While the dancing continues and the trippy events unfold, this movie devolves from an easygoing celebration to an almost unwatchable, hellish nightmare, all to the tune of electronic dance from the era. The way that Noé directs this film to take his audience on an unavoidable downward spiral is what intrigued me the absolute most. Beginning with over 5 minutes of recorded testimonials from the dancers involved, the way that he fleshes out these characters pretty much mainly happens during this beginning sequence. The audience gets a strong feel for who all these people are and the talents they bring to this dance crew, leading the way to their interactions during their descent into sheer madness. Some of the most peculiar things about this film, though, are the way it is set up. What would usually be a traditional opening credits, narrative, and then closing credits seem to be all scrambled up for Noé's sake. While I did not necessarily understand the point of mixing up the narrative linearity with the credits, it is undeniable that I won't ever forget the strange techniques that were used. What I found so impactful about Noé's direction, however, is how long he relishes in each one of the shots. He does not conform to telling a cohesive story and he does not even conform to establishing to the audience what might happen next. Absolutely no context clues are given throughout this movie, which pours each scene into the next with no hesitation. This not only gave me intense anxiety but made me feel as if I were just in the building with them all on a trip of my own. The environment building that Noé accomplishes in Climax is unlike anything I have ever seen.
The elements of this film that really made it, however, were the cinematography from Benoît Debie and the dance choreography from Nina McNeely. The opening dance number and the consistent planning of the individual dances throughout this movie were entrancing. Partly due in fact that this film was meant to make the audience feel as if they were on drugs, but the mesmerizing effects these dancers had on me was unforgettable. Debie's camerawork was absolutely superb as well. Utilizing this style that Noé obviously wanted to portray this wild trip, Debie was able to sweep and swoon around this one building so well. The constant long takes and smooth movement, along with its turns and use of an upside-down scene for a solid 15 minutes made me quite sick to my stomach. Which I can only assume was Noé's intended purpose and in that regard, he succeeded wildly. What this film lacked, however, was a compelling script. I understand that this movie was purely made to send its viewers down a rabbit hole into hell through its terrifying visuals, but I was just a bit bugged that the script itself was very lackluster. Climax had a strong enough, bottle-film premise that much more effort could have been put into making the characters a bit more interesting and the combined subplots more connected. What irked me the most was that I felt like this film went nowhere. I was stuck in this abandoned school with these dancers and simply watched their minds unwind for an hour and a half, but I wish I could have been exploring their stories a bit more. I got honestly bored with many of these scenes and felt that it moved incredibly slow. Despite all of that, this is one of the most sickly cinematic experiences I have ever had and one that will be difficult to top in terms of shock value.
Climax is something that really only A24 could ever release. I give astounding props to this studio for being one of the only ones willing to put out something as bold and unrelenting as this. As cliché as that praise for them may be at this point, I truly believe that sentiment; because if nothing else, this film was certainly a huge, artistic step in the opposite direction of what would be considered mainstream. I definitely would never show this to anyone who isn't a dedicated fan of cinema and I definitely will never watch this again.
My Rating: ★★★
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