Elle

It was a little confusing, but it was worth the watch.

I freely admit that, being male, my concept of female enablement may not be what it should be. If, to you, the phrase means a film about a middle-aged woman striving to keep her partnership going while solving personal problems with her mother, father, partner, son, and daughter-in-law while dealing with being raped at the start of the film then this film will meet your criteria, as she succeeds at everything, in one sense or another. But the trailer identifies Verhoeven (correctly) as the director of /Basic Instinct/, thus making some implications, and, trust me on this, this is /no/ /Basic Instinct/. Not even close. It is well done, to be sure. It is more like /Parenthood/ would have been, had that picture focused on the single parent and ignored the related families. But /Parenthood/ was and is /far/ more entertaining. I also found one aspect somewhat interesting: the dialogue followed a pattern familiar to me from such films as /The Valet/ and /Moliere/. Since those films were farces, I had concluded that these patterns were used in farces, but this is no farce. So, apparently, the French talk this way all the time. Whod a guessed?

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.

Solid acting by the cast and I definitely feel that Huppert was robbed of the Oscar for best actress. The reason I give it such a low score is that the main character, Huppert, deals with everything else but her rape. Her son who is being cheated on by his girlfriend and raising a child that isnt his, Having an affair with her best friends husband, Dealing with her ex husband, Her father is a serial killer and her mom keeps banging younger men. Everything is about them and not her. Even she brushes off her rape as if it were a walk in the park. My friend tried justifying it by saying her suffering is lost in the shuffle of everyone elses problems. I disagree because for one, Her rape is never really address. She just kind of brings it up at a party like Oh, I was raped and thats it. And second, Shes a main cause of the problems going in on her life. She bangs her best friends husband, Tries petty stuff to get even at her ex husband and she deeply resents her mother and father. And the real kicker of the film that is about rape is that it never addresses the rape itself. Its all just total nonsense, I cant stand it.

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.

This was a magnificently paced and darkly woven tale! Fantastic female lead actress- not difficult to see why she is a legend. I gave a lot of unsolicited advice to the characters as I was watching the film. A home security system would have wrecked the whole plot. It is not for the faint of heart with the home invasion(s), physical altercations etc. However, the entire film will cleverly bring up timely and charged topics from the news and struggles of todays world.

The setting is French urban chic. The central character plus friend are both bosses of their video-gaming company. Female leadership and therefore the drive to characterization is from that sex. The protagonist is dealing with various levels of complicated relationships: with her son, with her mother, with her ex-husband, with her lover, and with the desired focus on the particular game being developed. In that context, the unfolding story is how she responds to being raped; violent in itself. Its the unfolding twists - twisted even reactions that take ones breath away. There is a deep psychological dimension. For some who might explore more, read Whose Been Sleeping in Your Head.

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.

After seeing this, I understand why the amazing Isabelle Huppert didnt win the Oscar. No way PC academy voters would honor a film or character like this. But I loved it for the most part and shes terrific in it. Way more watchable and satisfying than I thought it would be, right up until that smack with a piece of wood near the end. Thats the moment when Elle let me down and proved not to be as smart as I thought it was -- and concluding with a bunch of too-neat and unrealistic resolutions that betray the unconventionality of everything that came before. Still, this harks back to the early, great films of director Verhoeven like Turkish Delight and The Fourth Man. Definitely worth seeing.

Is the intent of this movie to tell a story that justifies rape? Very little about this movie is likable. There is some good acting, but the script is un-savable. All of the characters are despicable and there is no redemption. What is meant to be a climax and wrap up of the story feels like it was added only because a focus group said it should be. Plus, how old are the characters supposed to be? Seems everyone in the show is 15-20 years older than their characters. Good for them for being able to play younger but it made the story a little harder to follow and believe.