Elle

What a sick, disturbing film this was! Everything about it bothered me...I only finished watching to see if there was some surprise ending that would make this strange story make sense, but NO there was no satisfying resolution. The main character was extremely unlikable as well. I wish so much that I had not watched this movie.

Kept hoping itd get better, but no.

Interesting story line that got into complex trauma and PTSD reactions. I found it very interesting and watched it twice.

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.

Not quite what I expected (which was something along the lines of Hard Candy) but it wasnt bad, just a bit strange

I DID NOT LOVE IT, BUT IT WAS OK

Great thing about this movie and what makes it so refreshing is that it does not feel like it was written by a committee. The Hollywood movies Im talking about are those with cookie-cutter scripts and feel like either PSAs or anti-PSAs and feel like youve seen dozens like them already. This is the story of how a super-smart woman deals successfully and unconventionally with misfortune

no doubt, isabelle huppert is always good at playing a soured woman, or an insubstantial woman, or an overexcitable woman. and this film gives her the opportunity to be all three at once, as a volatile and rather shallow software executive (made money in literature, bought the software company to tell stories) who is soured by her backstory, sleeping with her best friends lover, cruel to her mother and a very poor parent to her son. shes raped right at the beginning, so the plot is focused on unmasking the perpetrator, but all along i never really cared who it was. shes not a sympathetic character, her frigid and manipulative behavior is distasteful, and the whole thing reeks of the most foreign aspects of french esthetic and moral sensibilities. certainly not an oscar worthy performance.

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.

An exceptional story in the far limits of passion, madness and suffering. Not for bland spirits, anyway. Huppert is simply awesome.