There are no spinning cameras, no strobes, no psychedelic freak-outs. Instead, Vortex is a long, slow, heartbreakingly patient observation of a relationship being pulled apart by time and illness. "Death is the vortex," as one critic wrote, "the dark focus, whose gravitational pull gets stronger with every passing year". It is a radical departure, a film of profound sadness that garnered widespread critical acclaim and demonstrated an emotional maturity that surprised and moved even his most ardent detractors. It proves that Noé’s true subject has never been violence or sex, but the human condition itself.

Murphy is widely viewed as a stand-in for Noé; he is a filmmaker whose favorite movie is 2001: A Space Odyssey (Noé's own favorite) and even names his child "Gaspar". Critical and Cultural Impact

The critical reception and controversies regarding the film's debut at the Cannes Film Festival.