Elle

This is a decent movie although its provocative and not entirely believable when it comes to women, trauma, and sex. Isabelle Huppert is a strong female lead who has a casual attitude toward affairs and sexual fantasies, seemingly as a result of a traumatic event in childhood, but her character never really rings true. She plays the role well, though, and is appealingly enigmatic to the end. The different parts of the movie dont quite cohere: the perfunctory childhood tragedy feels forced into the script and Hupperts character is too unwaveringly blank and detached. That appealing laissez faire attitude that she has turns out to be disappointing in the end, which is way too predictable.

Middle aged French porn...

Its lovely and talented Isabelle Huppert that keeps this rather dismal and violent movie afloat. Huppert is poetry in motion even though she play the less than likable Michele Leblanc. ELLE opens with a shocker as Michele is being violently raped. Its an unnerving scene. Whats even more unnerving is that she doesnt go to the police and basically returns to her life almost as if nothing had happened. Michele and her partner run a video game business--video games that are especially violent against women? Could her assailant be one of her employees? What makes ELLE even more of a dismal film is that Michele is not a likable person. Shes tough on her employees and on her son. She has disdain for her elderly mother and her fling with a handsome (and seemingly nice) young stallion. She is especially unkind to her ex-husband Richard who seems to spend his time trying to make amends with Michele. Micheles assailant is stalking her and it was clear to me quickly who he was. The psychological factor kicks in as it seems that Michele has a need for this invasive violence. Its a not too deep journey into Micheles psyche as we learn her father is a notorious criminal up for parole. Its his horrific crime and the then 10-year-old Micheles role (innocent or not) that forms the backbone of Micheles life. Unfortunately, a chance was missed to tell an engrossing psychological thriller her. It is stylistic as are many French films. Add in a famous Dutch director, Paul Verhoeven, and this could explain the uneven level of styles. The main reason to watch ELLE is to see Isabelle Huppert in motion.

Director Paul Verhoeven is famous for his provocative films, often combining sex, violence and psychological power play. Actress Isabelle Huppert is famous for her demanding roles, often playing powerful women with an obsession for sex and/or violence. Put the two together and you can guess what you get. Elles lead character, Michèle, is a woman who owns a video game company, specializing in games filled with extreme sex and violence. She casually shares her bed with her best friends husband. She masturbates watching the neighbour unloading the trunk of his car. Her father is a convicted serial killer. Oh, and she doesnt seem to mind getting raped. At least, thats the impression after the very first scene. After having been attacked and violently raped, she doesnt call the police of even a friend, but a fast food restaurant, ordering something to eat. The film explores not only Michèles relationship with her rapist, whose identity is established after about two thirds of the film, but also the men and women in her immediate circle. They all have their problems and peculiarities, and Michèle seems to pull all their strings as a hard, cold woman, superbly mastering her feelings and emotions. For the viewer, it takes some effort to understand all the different relationships, and even more to grasp Michèles behaviour. The only explanation Verhoeven offers, is her troubled youth as the daughter of a serial killer. In my opinion, the film suffers from an overload of characters with psychological difficulties. Theres a mother hiring a gigolo because she cant accept getting older, theres a son clinging to a dominating girlfriend, a neighbour with a wife obsessed with religion, an employee playing a dirty trick on Michèle, and so on. Personally, I found it a bit too much. The one thing that stands out in this film, is Isabelle Hupperts acting. Any other actress could easily have made Michèles character unbelievable. But Hupperts utter detachment from any form of sensitivity makes the part completely convincing.

(Spoilers)...Paul Verhoven, a talented filmmaker, has a penchant for the somewhat kinky. He sort of achieves it here, having his heroine become lovers with the man who rapes her. For me this is a psychological conceit I just cant buy. It destroys any semblance of character credibility, something Verhoven can also lean towards. In addition, the main character, Elle, is an emotional blank, responding to her horrendous childhood only with a steely resolve. We never see inside her. I applaud the Amazon reviewers who have correctly rated this overrated film.

I couldnt even finish the last 15 minutes. No idea why professional reviewers liked it so much. What am I missing? The acting was great, but the story line was repugnant. SPOILER: When you are injured , vulnerable in a remote area, and need a ride, Im pretty damn sure you dont call your rapist for help. And thats not even the most hideous aspect of the plot.

Hands down, the most peculiar film Ive ever seen. Perhaps the comedy is lost in the cultural translation from French to American but it was not to my taste! The subject matter is distasteful and if this is what the French define as comedy, well, its all just wrong in my opinion. The main characters disregard for not only herself but those around her is startling and disturbing. Do, I regret spending time on this film, no. But would I ever recommend someone take time out of their life to view it, absolutely not.

arrived in time

Once upon a time, Paul Verhoeven was the hottest director in Hollywood, helming such box office hits as RoboCop and Basic Instinct. But a couple of disappointments (oddly, everyone I know loves Starship Troopers and Showgirls is regarded as a camp classic) is all it takes for studios to turn their back on you these days, so Verhoeven took his talent back overseas (he was born and raised in the Netherlands and didnt start directing American movies until the mid 80s - the underrated Flesh and Blood) where his style of sex, violence, and a good dose of humor seems to work best. This is the case with Elle, a movie that would be dead serious if it was made in Hollywood by anyone else. Thankfully, its French and helmed by Verhoeven – making it one of the more uniquely entertaining movies youre likely to come across. French actress and Academy Award nominee Isabelle Huppert ( indeed, one of the best and bravest actors currently working) stars as Michèle, who we see getting raped by a masked man (dressed all in black) in the movies opening moments. While this horrible event would be the cause of two hours of angst for a character in an American movie, Michèle treats her rape rather clinically, although that doesnt mean she doesnt become focused on both finding ways to protect herself and well as hoping to unmask the perpetrator – who begins a game of taunting her after the events take place. Michèle works for a videogame company whose specialty is creating violent and sexually exploitive games, so she immediately begins to suspect that one of her employees (maybe a current one, perhaps a former one) is the man who raped her. Others in Michèles circle of friends and acquaintances are also suspicious. I will confess to pinpointing who the person was as soon as his character is introduced in the movie, although I dont know if it will be that obvious to everyone who watches the film. However, the identity of the person is just the first surprise in the movie, as Michèles response is far from expected and may even turn some viewers (especially females, I suspect) off. I will say that knowing who it is (or having a pretty good idea) didnt take away any of my enjoyment, which is a good indication that the film holds up to multiple viewings and is much more than a whodunnit. The movie also has a great excuse why our lead character doesnt take her problems to the police; Michèles father was responsible for some horrible crimes at which she was present (as a little girl). The crimes were horrendous enough that complete strangers will shout awful things at her, and one woman (early in the movie) actually throws a tray of food on her in a public restaurant. Michèle treats that moment so nonchalantly, that viewers will know its happened to her many times before. But for all the seriousness of the subject matter here, the real surprise of Elle (which, incidentally, isnt a nickname for the main character but rather the French word for she) is what a wicked sense of humor is has. Not in the laugh-out-loud kind of way (although I certainly did so a few times), but in a dry, subversive way. Theres a great subplot here involving Michèles son (Jonas Bloquet) and the rather questionable girlfriend (Alice Isaaz) hes chosen for himself that goes places I dont think a Hollywood movie would dare (wait until you the scene where she gives birth!). Unfortunately a lot of us avoid foreign movies because you have no desire to sit and read subtitles for two hours – I sometimes feel the same, but I encourage you to give this movie a chance. If youve loved Verhoevens work here in the States, youll get that same feeling with Elle. I dont know that its the directors best movie, but its definitely a contender. Vital Disc Stats: (The Blu-ray.) Elle arrives on Blu-ray in a standard Sony-type blue keepcase (the kind with the flap on the side you need to lift up to open the case) and contains no inserts. The 50GB Blu-ray is front-loaded with trailers for Equity, Julieta, Toni Erdmann, Maggies Plan, and Our Little Sister. The main menu consists of a still image of actress Isabelle Hupperts character and the cat in the movie (the same image that graces the back of the keepcases slick), with menu selections horizontally across the bottom of the screen. The Blu-ray is region-free.

For the great acting and very good production. A very twisted story, but not too far from reality for some. I wanted to stop watching it at one point, but I could not. Have you own experience.