Elle

Huppert is fantastic and the character development and interaction is very well thought out. Very well done.

Huppert is what earns two stars for this bloated, pretentious mess of a movie! I loved her character in Piano Teacher, and the character she portrays in this one is cut from the same cloth. She is born to play these roles. She looks good too! For a Verhoeven film, this is crap! The film isnt shocking at all. It doesnt have to be shocking, but it could at least be a good film. It didnt resonate with me. Verhoevens films usually gut punch on a social satire level, but this movie is merely your typical, predictable, Hollywood crap with a little rape thrown in. Big deal! Some say that the story telling, and character development is what elevates this film over many others. I call shananigans on that too! Youll notice that every conflict the film throws at you, (and its a lot of them!) is nicely resolved at the end. A perfect little fit. Not one loose end or question will linger by the end credits. I guess its a satire of typical, lame Hollywood dramas. Sadly the movie only succeeds in being the very thing it attempts to lampoon. In conclusion, I highly recommend this to Huppert fans. Verhoeven fans should avoid this!

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.

Interesting movie. Not surprising given the director.

This movie was very different! It was good but kind of unbelievable as far as her personal relationships in the story went. Don’t want to spoil anything; I would recommend just to hear other reviews.

Great movie and Huppert is an incredible actress who does a lot with her character. Made me want to move to France.

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...

Weird movie

Pual Verhoeven is one of my favorite film directors. I own all his English language films and a few of his other non-English films. I really miss new work from this director and Elle is a nice addition to his filmography. Its engaging, but at the same time very non-American. You would never see a story quite like this filmed by an American film maker. Some will take issue with the plot, but I feel it just further shows how different we all really are. In America, this film would have never been green lite, but France looks at sexuality differently from Americans. I like how much of this worlds difference are illustrated. The story is compelling and the character of Elle may seem like a pushover at first, but ultimately she shines! Highly recommend for Pual Verhoeven fans.

Well...life is complicated...especially if youre French. But I actually kind of liked it in a perverse sort of way. Interesting story with a strong female lead.