Even by Noe's standards, Vortex is truly unflinching and horrifically brutal, and does so without showing the sorts of extreme sexual and/or violent content that can often be found in his other films.
There's no real optimism or sentimentality. This film is just "getting old is horrible and here's what can happen" with no filter. The characters are similarly honest- Dario Argento's character is asked how his wife is. He bluntly replies "Not good." His character's son echoes a similar sentiment.
It takes a similar premise to 2012's Amour yet makes it even more impactful. It uses a bolder stylistic decision too, which I won't spoil here (I think it kind of works. It makes some moments extra devastating, but I couldn't always work out its explicit purpose on a scene to scene basis).
While it's definitely not a fun or fast-paced movie, 142 minutes passed by surprisingly quick, which I think speaks to how absorbing and well-acted it is. It may well be Gaspar Noe's best film so far.
