Elle

Im a longtime fan of Isabelle Hupert, and this role is perfect for her. Im glad her age is not a deterrent any longer as makeup and care can help great actresses play younger roles in films. We can enjoy Isabelle Huperts formidable skills much longer. Good thriller film with unpredictable plot.

Hard to categorize. One of the greatest performances ever. How can a movie with this subject matter be so darkly funny. Such a great, complex characterization. One of 2016s great films (or any years). Dont be put off - see it.

Great movie--another foreign masterpiece. Great acting and amazing sexual scenes. Best foreign movie of the year ! You have got to check this one out--with a great ending. Saw it twice at the theatres and I bought a copy for my collection. Get this one!!!!.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be giving anything starring one of my favorite screen stars a poor review. So many glowing ones here, and yet I am stumped. I loved The Piano Teacher in which she played a sexually suppressed and twisted woman. And I have loved just about everything else shes done. I had high hopes for this film when it started. She looks fabulous; the rest of the cast is great. And yet - it just didnt add up on so many levels, most notably the physical. How could it be that this woman is raped and beaten again and again and yet comes up glowing and bouncy, able to dance with her rapist after having her knee gashed by him. Why is her face seen as perfectly alabaster after multiple throttlings by her horrible abuser? I was somehow led to believe that she extracts her revenge on him, and I thought that was going to be in some clever, interesting way, but no - in the end she is as despicable as the rapist in my opinion, leaving it to an innocent to do the killing. Is her sang froid in so many sensitive situations supposed to imply that she does, after all, take after her psychopathic father? The finale seems to prove this; what she has done to her best friend. But whats particularly troublesome is that she is forgiven, again and again, by the people she uses. That does not ring true. A person like that might be feared but she would also be hated by others, not celebrated and adored. So for me, this is less about a poor woman who is raped than about a total narcissist/sociopath who has no qualms about using everyone around her, including her son, for her twisted needs and desires. No, this one just didnt add up. Mostly, though, it was her lack of any scars or physical repercussions of rape. That is an insult to women who have suffered rape and live with the mental and phsyical damages. Im shocked that critics didnt understand that. The cool, attractive cookie role not only doesnt work here, its destructive to women, and I would not advise any woman I know to see it.

Yikes! This is not for the faint of heart.

Great movie! Dark, suspenseful, superbly cast & acted I’ve watched it three different times & found settle nuances I had missed prior. I would definitely recommend this movie to a friend.

This story calls for a strong-minded, level-headed female lead and Huppert is perfect for it. Ive always loved her performance but it took me a long time to make up my mind to watch this one because of the subject matter. It did not disappoint. Like many French films and unlike most Hollywood films, it has a main plot line and many sub plot lines which are just as intriguing. In the first half hour, it unfolds so well about the relationships and dynamics among the characters involved without wasting scenes to explain, just enough to keep the suspense going but not too much to insult our intelligence. Obviously we are kept on our toes all the way to the end on the question of who did it, but for me its also about the personal struggle of finally breaking free from ones painful past and starting to move on with living. She is so fearful of reporting the assault to the police because she does not stir up the public attention of the past--there she continues to let the past influence her actions and rule her life. Spoiler alert: at one point there is a conclusion to her past (the passing of her father), after which she starts making different decisions...At the end of the day, this is a happy-ending story. Before watching it, I had vaguely remembered review words like controversial and thought maybe it had something to do with her attraction to the aggressor. After watching it I have to say her attraction to the aggressor (without knowing who it is at the time) precisely highlights the point for many rape victims in real life, that what constitutes a rape is without the consensus of the victim, regardless of how attractive the aggressor is. On the other hand, I thought what could be a bit controversial might be how she refuses to forgive her father (and her mother for that matter) even when they are on their deathbeds. Most movies would have them reconcile somehow, but this plot is more honest. I dont personally have such a painful past with my family to be able to directly relate but I hope this detail is validating and comforting to those who can relate, and that it is okay not to forgive those who did wrong to you, as long as this feeling empowers and liberates you, like it did her.

This story calls for a strong-minded, level-headed female lead and Huppert is perfect for it. Ive always loved her performance but it took me a long time to make up my mind to watch this one because of the subject matter. It did not disappoint. Like many French films and unlike most Hollywood films, it has a main plot line and many sub plot lines which are just as intriguing. In the first half hour, it unfolds so well about the relationships and dynamics among the characters involved without wasting scenes to explain, just enough to keep the suspense going but not too much to insult our intelligence. Obviously we are kept on our toes all the way to the end on the question of who did it, but for me its also about the personal struggle of finally breaking free from ones painful past and starting to move on with living. She is so fearful of reporting the assault to the police because she does not stir up the public attention of the past--there she continues to let the past influence her actions and rule her life. Spoiler alert: at one point there is a conclusion to her past (the passing of her father), after which she starts making different decisions...At the end of the day, this is a happy-ending story. Before watching it, I had vaguely remembered review words like controversial and thought maybe it had something to do with her attraction to the aggressor. After watching it I have to say her attraction to the aggressor (without knowing who it is at the time) precisely highlights the point for many rape victims in real life, that what constitutes a rape is without the consensus of the victim, regardless of how attractive the aggressor is. On the other hand, I thought what could be a bit controversial might be how she refuses to forgive her father (and her mother for that matter) even when they are on their deathbeds. Most movies would have them reconcile somehow, but this plot is more honest. I dont personally have such a painful past with my family to be able to directly relate but I hope this detail is validating and comforting to those who can relate, and that it is okay not to forgive those who did wrong to you, as long as this feeling empowers and liberates you, like it did her.

Sometimes the stars align for a film, as is the case with the legendary French actress, Isabelle Huppert taking the lead in Paul Verhoevens in-your-face thriller, Elle. Both the story and the star are superbly matched, here. It is almost cliche to say that Verhoeven is controversial. Hardly any of his English-language films, from Robocop to Basic Instinct did not generate strident conversations. Elle was not different -- is no different -- in its uncomfortable look at the role a strong-willed woman plays in a still male-dominated society. A middle-aged CEO of a computer gaming company in Paris is attacked in her home. Not particularly unique, except that rather than reporting the rape to the police -- which, lets face it, probably wouldnt do any good -- she decides to take matters into her own hands and find the perp herself. She might have gotten more than she bargained for as the rapist begins taunting her, and without spoiling anything, when she finds out who it is it is not only surprising, but a bit anti-climactic. Verhoeven and his lead actress use the unusual, but clearly-told story as a vehicle for interrogating issues of sexual predation, sexism in the corporate world and much else. Rather well, I think.

Not for everyone! I love Isabelle Huppert. This film is a real challenge for some people. I dont think it is being disrespectful to people who have been through a sexual assault. I think Verhoven wants us to see this film as a tale. It is about how this particular women responds to this sexual assault. As a mental health therapist, I can tell you that no trauma is the same. Therefore, not everyones response is the same. I think this is a brave film that is great to spark conversations with people about. Some people may need to view it a few times to get over the initial shock of seeing it at first. Isabelle Huppert - as always - is perfection.