Elle

**** 4-Stars **** Elle is simply she or her in French - and sometimes it. Paul Verhoeven, one of my favorite directors, teams up with Isabelle Huppert, one of my favorite actors, to make a film that is surprising, often shocking, and wholly fascinating. I will watch it again. Warning: this is one of the least politically correct flicks you will ever see - multiple rapes (which our heroine suffers stoically, and perhaps with some curiosity), lots of bed-hopping, and a handful of other things likely to annoy some viewers. But the real question is, can you accept a 63-year-old woman as sexy, strong-willed and a bit of a femme-fatale? French audiences clearly had no problem (Huppert is universally adored, and besides, Catherine Deneuve, a decade older than Huppert, already busted this glass ceiling a few times) - but Im not so sure Americans will be as comfortable with this. Go ahead, watch Elle - I dare ya. Vive la France!

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.

I like Paul.Verhoeven movies but I really like his commentaries. It helps me understand the weird choices he makes in his films. I was very disappointed to find that this bluray does not have director commentary. The story is weird and kind of freaky for the normal US viewer. If you are a Verhoeven fan rent this instead of buying with the lack of special features its not worth the bluray price.

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.

Excellent acting but a very dark cinema.

*****Spoilers****** I had to see this because the reviews are so varied. I found it to be an okay film. I think many people missed the point - it is not really about the rape, (which is shocking, and chews up the scenery a lot). This is about a woman traumatized early in life by her father whom she hates. The rapist has some screwed up religious ideologies, and the victim, (Isabelle Huppert - whose true victimization was at the hands of her father as a young child) has a screwed up need to feel punished. This last part comes out as the film progresses - not that I would ever say that a woman would want to be victimized in the way Elle is in the opening scene, but she clearly seeks out a continuation of the violence as the movie progresses. It is difficult to watch, and I had to fast forward through the attack scenes, but I believe Ive solved the puzzle of this film - at least in my mind. What motivated Elle - she was motivated by hatred of her father, and a self hatred that she spread around generously.

This 2016 movie was a good entertainment, but not as great as I expected. Be careful of the critics reviews, as usual. I thought it was easy to suspect the bad guy sooner in the development of the story when it was not the buy guy yet. Huppert is filling her role which, as always with her, is deeply tormented. This noir movie, based on Philippe Djians Oh is a Germano-French collaboration directed by the well-known and also very tormented Verhoeven. Michele is a separated woman who, with her best friend, is at the head of a video game company. She seems to like to control everybodys life, from her mother to her ex, though her son and his girlfriend, without forgetting her team; but one day...

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.

Very strange. Is this the result of extensive focus group input and too much compromise? Isabelle Hupperts performance is excellent but she cant surpass the poor material.

Intriguing story line, characterization and good acting. But...those French are famous for being all about love and sex. Well, here ya go. Violent sex. Affairs. Fantasy. Masturbation. Marital sex. Murderous sex. Same sex. Etc etc. So Elle is about Elle and Everyone else. I liked it once I settled in and let it be what it was - a sexy French film.