Overlay: Irreversible (2002) plot structure and inciting incidents

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Errors	Missing	Unverified	Supported
4	1	0	0

How were these counts calculated?

Errors (4)

The chronological beginning of the story is the scene in the park where Alex reasequence-error The film cinematically opens with a prologue featuring 'The Butcher' (from Noé'ssequence-error Due to the reverse chronology, the Rectum club scene is shown *before* the searcsequence-error The Park Scene: The summary identifies the apartment scene as the chronological sequence-error

Missing (1)

The Butcher Prologue: The summary completely omits the actual opening scene of tomitted-action

#Q ORIGINAL QUESTION

Regarding the film Irreversible (2002), what actions start the plot in motion?

#M ANNOTATED LLM RESPONSE

The plot of Gaspar Noé's Irreversible (2002) is famously told in reverse chronological order. Because of this structure, there are two ways to answer what "starts" the plot: the events that open the movie cinematically and the events that set the tragedy in motion chronologically.

1. The Chronological Start (The Causality)

If we look at the story as it happens in real-time, the plot is set in motion by a series of domestic and social choices during a single day in Paris.

The Pregnancy Reveal: The story begins with Alex (Monica Bellucci) and Marcus (Vincent Cassel) waking up in their apartment. The very first chronological action is Alex taking a pregnancy test, which comes back positive. This adds a layer of tragic irony to everything that follows, as she does not yet tell Marcus.
The Dream: Alex describes a prophetic dream to Marcus about a red tunnel that "breaks in two," which foreshadows the location of the upcoming assault.
The House Party (The Inciting Incident): Alex, Marcus, and Alex's ex-boyfriend Pierre (Albert Dupontel) attend a house party. At this party, Marcus's behavior is the primary catalyst for the plot. He becomes heavily intoxicated, uses cocaine, and begins behaving aggressively and flirtatiously with other women.
The Decision to Leave: Fed up with Marcus’s behavior and his refusal to leave with her, Alex decides to go home alone. Pierre tries to convince her to stay or let him escort her, but she refuses. Her decision to walk home and take a shortcut through a pedestrian underpass (the red tunnel) is the specific action that places her in the path of "Le Tenia," the man who brutally assaults her.

2. The Cinematic Start (The Narrative Hook)

The film actually opens near the end of the story’s timeline, immediately plunging the audience into the "motion" of a revenge mission.

The Search for 'Le Tenia': The movie begins with Marcus and Pierre frantically searching the streets of Paris for a man known only as "Le Tenia" (The Tapeworm). They are guided by two street criminals who claim to know where he is.
The Rectum Club: The plot's immediate cinematic motion is Marcus’s descent into an underground BDSM club called "The Rectum." His blind rage and physical aggression lead him to confront the wrong man, resulting in a chaotic fight where his arm is broken.
The Fire Extinguisher Scene: This opening sequence concludes with the most infamous scene in the film, where Pierre—the traditionally "civilized" character—snaps and uses a fire extinguisher to brutally kill the man they believe is Le Tenia (though the actual perpetrator watches from the background).

Summary of Key Actions

The plot is set in motion by a "domino effect" of small and large choices:

Marcus’s drug use and intoxication at the party.
Alex’s decision to leave the party alone to avoid Marcus’s behavior.
The choice to enter the underpass rather than taking a taxi or the street level.
Marcus’s decision to seek vigilante justice rather than staying with Alex at the hospital, which shifts the plot from a tragedy into a revenge thriller.
(Note: This summary was generated by Gemini 3.0 Flash + Search)

#F CORRECTION FEED (CLICK TO SEARCH)

[1] The chronological beginning of the story is the scene in the park where Alex reads 'An Experiment with Time' while children play. The apartment scene occurs after this.

[2] The film cinematically opens with a prologue featuring 'The Butcher' (from Noé's 'I Stand Alone') and then shows the aftermath outside the Rectum club (ambulance/arrest). The search for Le Tenia appears later in the film's runtime.

[3] Due to the reverse chronology, the Rectum club scene is shown *before* the search scene. The summary implies the search happens first in the movie, which is incorrect.

#O MISSED POINTS & OVERSIGHTS

High

The Butcher Prologue

The summary completely omits the actual opening scene of the film featuring Philippe Nahon as The Butcher, which sets the thematic tone ('Time destroys all things').

Medium

The Park Scene

The summary identifies the apartment scene as the chronological start, missing the actual final scene (chronological start) in the park.

#C RELATED QUERIES

#01 What is the significance of the book Alex reads in Irreversible?

#02 Who is The Butcher in Irreversible?

#03 Does Pierre kill the real rapist in Irreversible?

#S SOURCES

kpbs.org youtube.com youtube.com collider.com youtube.com spoilertown.com wikipedia.org youtube.com fandom.com thebedlamfiles.com reelingreviews.com highonfilms.com theguardian.com taylorholmes.com slate.com

#R ORIGINAL AI RESPONSE

▼

The plot of Gaspar Noé's *Irreversible* (2002) is famously told in reverse chronological order. Because of this structure, there are two ways to answer what "starts" the plot: the events that open the movie cinematically and the events that set the tragedy in motion chronologically. ### 1. The Chronological Start (The Causality) If we look at the story as it happens in real-time, the plot is set in motion by a series of domestic and social choices during a single day in Paris. * **The Pregnancy Reveal:** The story begins with Alex (Monica Bellucci) and Marcus (Vincent Cassel) waking up in their apartment. The very first chronological action is Alex taking a pregnancy test, which comes back positive. This adds a layer of tragic irony to everything that follows, as she does not yet tell Marcus. * **The Dream:** Alex describes a prophetic dream to Marcus about a red tunnel that "breaks in two," which foreshadows the location of the upcoming assault. * **The House Party (The Inciting Incident):** Alex, Marcus, and Alex's ex-boyfriend Pierre (Albert Dupontel) attend a house party. At this party, **Marcus's behavior** is the primary catalyst for the plot. He becomes heavily intoxicated, uses cocaine, and begins behaving aggressively and flirtatiously with other women. * **The Decision to Leave:** Fed up with Marcus’s behavior and his refusal to leave with her, Alex decides to go home alone. Pierre tries to convince her to stay or let him escort her, but she refuses. Her decision to walk home and take a shortcut through a **pedestrian underpass (the red tunnel)** is the specific action that places her in the path of "Le Tenia," the man who brutally assaults her. ### 2. The Cinematic Start (The Narrative Hook) The film actually opens near the end of the story’s timeline, immediately plunging the audience into the "motion" of a revenge mission. * **The Search for 'Le Tenia':** The movie begins with Marcus and Pierre frantically searching the streets of Paris for a man known only as "Le Tenia" (The Tapeworm). They are guided by two street criminals who claim to know where he is. * **The Rectum Club:** The plot's immediate cinematic motion is Marcus’s descent into an underground BDSM club called "The Rectum." His blind rage and physical aggression lead him to confront the wrong man, resulting in a chaotic fight where his arm is broken. * **The Fire Extinguisher Scene:** This opening sequence concludes with the most infamous scene in the film, where Pierre—the traditionally "civilized" character—snaps and uses a fire extinguisher to brutally kill the man they believe is Le Tenia (though the actual perpetrator watches from the background). ### Summary of Key Actions The plot is set in motion by a "domino effect" of small and large choices: 1. **Marcus’s drug use and intoxication** at the party. 2. **Alex’s decision to leave the party alone** to avoid Marcus’s behavior. 3. **The choice to enter the underpass** rather than taking a taxi or the street level. 4. **Marcus’s decision to seek vigilante justice** rather than staying with Alex at the hospital, which shifts the plot from a tragedy into a revenge thriller. (Note: This summary was generated by Gemini 3.0 Flash + Search)

#A DIRECT ANSWER (VERIFIED ANALYSIS)

▼

The plot of Irreversible is set in motion by different actions depending on the perspective. Chronologically, the story begins in a park with Alex reading An Experiment with Time. The tragedy is then set in motion by Marcus's intoxication at a party, causing Alex to leave alone and enter the underpass where she is raped by Le Tenia. Cinematically, the film opens with a prologue featuring 'The Butcher' (from I Stand Alone), followed by the aftermath of the revenge: Marcus is carried out on a stretcher and Pierre is arrested outside the Rectum club. The film then moves backward to the 'Rectum' scene where Pierre kills a man with a fire extinguisher (who is not Le Tenia), and then further back to the search that led them there.

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