Vortex [Blu-ray]

𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆'𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎, 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒊𝒕?Vortex is a 2021 avant-garde psychological drama film written and directed by Gaspar Noé.Told entirely through split-screen, the story revolves around an elderly couple (A retired psychiatrist with dementia and a struggling author with a heart condition) as they struggle with declining mental and physical health with the help of their adult son (Stéphane), who is also dealing with significant personal problems.To appreciate Noé is to risk being deceived beyond repair. in usual fashion, 𝑽𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒙 opens with an almost misplaced optimism, albeit uninsured, as viewers are introduced to a couple who are exchanging a pseudo-vow of gratitude to happiness in a comparably unadulterated life.This cheerfulness is short-lived and interrupted by a thin line - One that emotionally augments and stays encapsulated by another that is present with perpetuity and splits the screen. Metaphorically, this choice speaks to the deterioration that awaits this otherwise anonymous pair of husband and wife: with it is a perceptual disconnect that is so palpable, and lingering, and pinged through Noés’ usual abuse of tracking shots.An unorthodox method of storytelling, is not all just self-serving in the end, and further on that serves a practical purpose. A certain priviness is provided to to action occurring simultaneously and secondarily to the intimate nature which with a semblance of orchestrated chaos excavates this couples corresponding ailments: Not to mention, this also saves time, which as a resource is self-referentially due to expire at any given moment. Prone to juxtaposition, as Stéphane is a key player with the advantage of sprightly youth on his side, so follows a fragmentation inspired by the stress of compensatory parentification and the impression that some things - like clarity, love, and memories - are further than they appear.𝑽𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒙’s real horror is found to be in how well endowed and encompassing its approach is on the topic of dementia or other derivatives of clinical decline; such conditions requires non-attachment to predictability in times of comfort especially, and a sense of reconciliation that is painful to witness, much less withstand as helpless bystanders. As wife - or mother, as she is so endearingly called with an almost neutrality - spirals, her chronic confusion procreates an infectious strain of diseasement. Born is this sort of big ask of effort, and sacrificing, and acquiescence when an enduring love does nothing to improve someone's standard of living or relieve them of suffering in a substantiating way: Every moment more brittle than the one that has just passed.No stranger to the kinetically twisted microcosms of reality, 𝑽𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒙’s relative tameness is of no coincidence in light of Noé’s filmography though in this sequence of events the terrors are coming quite literally from inside of a cranial fortress. In 2020 Noé survived a brain hemorrhage despite the chances of doing so being low, unveiling a certain fragility and respect for death as a great equalizer that lends naturally to a story where “In sickness and in health” serves duly as a damned punchline. Additionally, the influence provided by the experience of Noé having a mother with dementia cannot be overstated: 𝑽𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒙 is formative as a development around loss, and more importantly the inevitably of it, and such cruelty it summons in the desire for its characters to be released from their separate ills and knowledge that dying could in this context be a great relief. There is no doubting that in spurts this production is a coping mechanism with a built-in affinity for various media that go consumed with the intent of being distracted from all of the chaos that disrupts our lives: And isn’t that the least that so many of us deserve?Fear, above all, is a breeding ground for exploitability: A language that Noé proves well versed in as he habitually hinges on his audiences’ vulnerabilities to garner distress for seemingly rare circumstances. The confrontation here is pedestrian and alluring all the same, futile as it proves to be, and it builds up to a heartbreak whose satisfaction is as intense as it is short-lived. at the center of all this 𝑽𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒙 is a whirlpool of contempt for the curse that is mortality, but more deeply rooted is appreciation for the beauty that comes with limited time: And like its namesake, its audience is drawn in and invited to swallow agony, but its their responsibility to regurgitate what they think can be done with it.𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒔𝒚𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑨𝒍𝒛𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓’𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅. 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏’𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅. 𝑶𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆.-Noé, when asked to reflect on what he learned in telling this story.

It is a well done movie, the cinematography and acting are good, but it's not anything like his other movies (Carne, I stand alone, Irreversible, Enter the Void). I was disappointed because Noe's other films all have a "bite" to them. You won't find that here.

Subtitles cannot be turned off, as they're embedded into picture. It's a real shame seeing it aspires to be a special release of this title.