Enter the Void

Argentine-born writer-director Gaspar Noé has created a trippy, cinematic fever dream with "Enter the Void," which literally takes the viewer through life, death, and beyond. But the filmmaker's technical wizardry can't mask an unrelentingly bleak experience.

Oscar (Nathaniel Brown) and Linda (Paz de la Huerta) are close-knit siblings separated after the death of their parents in a brutal car accident. Years later, the pair are reunited when Oscar encourages Linda to join him in Tokyo, where he has wound up in the nightclub scene and is supporting himself as a drug dealer. Soon, Linda becomes equally ensconced in a sleazy lifestyle, working as a stripper and sleeping with her boss Mario (Masato Tanno).

That's the backstory, which we learn about later through flashbacks. The film falls into three distinct sections. First, we see Tokyo from Oscar's point of view in real time during the last 30 minutes of his life, as he gets high and chats about philosophy with his friend Alex (Cyril Roy). Oscar is betrayed by drug addict Victor (Olly Alexander) and shot by the police. As he dies, Oscar's consciousness literally floats away from his body.

The next hour or so is a fairly contemporary series of flashbacks. In the film's third act, Oscar returns to his sister and friends, over whom he hovers and watches what's happened to them since Oscar's death.

Noé is a talented director, a master of the technical aspects of filmmaking. He uses dazzling effects to depict Oscar's flights through walls and over buildings, hovering over the living as they grieve for him.

But the film exhibits a very dark view of life and death. The trauma that these characters experience is shown in full, unguarded view. Small children, whose parents are killed in a car accident, are left screaming in horror sitting next to their parents' mutilated bodies. Several other scenes—including an abortion—are impressive in their cinematic realism. After the film ends, one feels as traumatized as the characters.

Noé elicits strong performances from all the actors. Brown and de la Huerta are terrific as the siblings who seem to be hurting each other as much as they try to help. Roy is particularly strong as Oscar's closest friend.

Genre: Drama.
Written and directed by: Gaspar Noé.
Starring: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy, Olly Alexander, Masato Tanno.