"Climax" (2019) Review
I’m not exactly what you’d call a “fan” of Gaspar Noé.
I imagine there will be plenty of people who are not familiar with that name. For those of us who are familiar, it’s a name that tends to inspire an equal amount of awe and disgust. To call Gaspar Noé’s films “controversial” is a monstrous understatement. I am not exaggerating when I say that his films have some of the most brutal scenes I’ve ever witnessed in any movie in my life (two of them happen in his 2002 film Irreversible, a film I don’t feel like revisiting anytime soon). Between loathsome characters who act on their worst impulses to scenes that seem to be designed only to push the envelope for the sake of itself, Gaspar Noé seems like the kind of filmmaker I’d hate.
So, why is Climax not only my favorite film of his but one of my favorite films I saw in 2019?
For starters, this is his “mildest” film to date. Do not mistake that for meaning that this is easy to sit through. Climax secured an R-rating from the MPAA, the first Gaspar Noé film to do so. That’s not because the rest of his movies are PG-13 and lower. It’s because the MPAA usually doesn’t rate his films for official U.S. release, usually going as “Not Rated” or “Unrated.”
But even if Noé’s other films have brought me to the absolute nadir of disgust, I have always respected Noé’s filmmaking. You see, Noé isn’t like most “shock” filmmakers out there. Instead of poorly shooting his controversial material, it is shot in extremely long, extremely complicated takes, with CGI assists used to create the most realistic images possible. Instead of just stuffing a dummy with red corn syrup and goofing around, Noé is making films at a technical level that people in the same arena simply do not achieve. There is genuine artistry in making things that disgusting in that particular way, and I respect it, even if it’s not always for me.
Which brings us to Climax.
(Okay, the wording on that last sentence… Whatever.)
Climax is not only the movie of Noé’s I enjoy the most, but it might also be one of my favorite movies of the 2010s. It combines the disgusting instincts of Noé’s work with the beauty of dance, and it turns out there’s more overlap between the two than you’d think. The writing of bodies can happen for all sorts of reasons, whether it’s for performance, out of agony, or something in-between.
The plot is pretty thin, but is more than serviceable. After an unusual credits sequence that shows us that this story is not going to end particularly well (and that the story is set in the late 1990s), we see a series of videotapes. They are dancers, being interviewed before they go off to America to tour their dance act. They’re a motley crew, and we begin to learn about their vices and their (many) desires.
Then, we see them practice, in a scene that is frankly a highlight of 2019 in of itself, a continuous shot of six-minute dance routine. The camera cranes of moves around the dancers, maximizing the impact of the choreography, all without cutting. It is, without exaggeration, one of my favorite dance scenes of all time (there is another dance sequence in this movie that’s also in the running, to the point that it’s my actual favorite scene of 2019, but talking about why I love it so much would definitely count as a spoiler).
From there, the dancers celebrate after a successful rehearsal. Sangria is widely available, and very few people have opted out of taking several several SEVERAL drinks. Which wouldn’t be such a big problem except for one thing:
It becomes very clear that the sangria has been spiked by LSD, and the paranoia (and MANY character flaws) of the dancers completely consumes them. Halfway through this dance party, the tone shifts dramatically into something like a horror movie as the dancers’ behavior devolves further and further, to the point that some characters no longer seem to speak words but in grunts and screams.
So, if you’re wondering why I haven’t listed out the cast at this point, it’s because, for one thing, the cast list is pretty damn long (and pretty much every character has a standout moment/setpiece/dance piece). Two, there is only one professional actor in the entire cast, the always excellent Sofia Boutella playing Selva, the choreographer for the dance crew. I think Sofia Boutella is a wildly underrated actress, and seeing her get to go all out with dancing and acting in Climax is just astonishing. Much has been written about a particular freakout scene she completely controls.
The rest of the cast are non-actors, all excellent dancers (that Gaspar Noé mostly recruited off of YouTube videos he saw). They don’t get as many scenes to themselves, most of the big acting moments are (smartly) given to Boutella, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the cast sucks at all. They’re actually pretty fantastic, delivering weirdly believable performances, though none of them stand out a ton (except for DJ Kiddy Smile, playing a character named “Daddy,” who seems to be having a blast with the material here).
And honestly, I’m more than willing to grade these dancers on a curve if necessary, because the dancing is absolutely incredible. I’m not an expert on dance, mind you, but the choreography just astonishes me in every scene, especially once you get into the back half and the dancers (and the dance floor they’re on) begin to resemble something like a Hieronymus Bosch painting, but made out of dancers and red lights.
The scenes where this movie slows down between the dancing (mostly in the first half) do threaten to drag the movie down, but at just over 90 minutes, this movie doesn’t overstay its welcome. It plays out its premise and doesn’t push past where it needs to go.
The ultimate thing that ties the whole movie together though is the perfectly curated soundtrack. Mostly late-90s dance music (with a few anachronistic exceptions), the soundtrack keeps this movie on the move at pretty much all times. Even if you don’t like the particular scene you’re in, there’s usually some kind of music to back it up that’s perfectly suited to the scene. And before you wonder “How on Earth does 90s dance music work in the horror scenes?,” all I’ll say is take a listen to Daft Punk’s “Rollin and Scratchin’” or Apex Twin’s “Window Licker” and get back to me.
More than anything though, this movie really does feel like an experience. I know that can be a bit of a cop-out to say sometimes, but Climax really is a movie that engages the senses. The long-takes engage a sense of claustrophobia, the beautiful dancing draws you in further, the music is addictive, (most) of the acting is compelling, and the scenario these characters find themselves in is fascinating. I love engaging with this nightmare experience, it’s hideousness is only matched by its beauty.
Like many of the movies I love, this is NOT going to be for everyone (if you’ve made it this far into this review, I think that much should be clear). If you can give yourself over to the nightmare that is Climax, I think you’ll find a lot to love. Is it so pretentious that it plays the end credits at the beginning, and then plays the shortened version of the credits in the exact middle of the movie? Yes, yes it is. But if you can get hypnotized by the dancing and the horror of it all, I think you’re going to find something really special here.
Actually, one last thing. If you are familiar with Gaspar Noé, but have never seen his films because of what you’ve heard about them, BUT you’re interested in trying them, I would start by watching this movie. If this movie is too much to handle/isn’t your thing, I’d say your odds of enjoying the rest of his films are going to be pretty damn low.
