Elle (2016) (French Language)

Review

130min

Genre:     Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Director:  Paul Verhoeven

Cast:       Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny…and more

Writers:   David Birke, Philippe Djian and Harold Manning

-Synopsis-

Isabelle Huppert stars a successful and uncompromising video-game company boss who engages in a dangerous game with the masked stranger who sexually assaulted her at home, exposing the disturbing underbelly of both their characters in this provocative multiple award-winning French drama/thriller from Dutch genre master Paul Verhoeven.

After over forty years of pushing the envelope of European cinema and delighting Hollywood audiences with sci-fi and thrillers, director Paul Verhoeven returns—after making only one film in a decade— armed with the talents of the doyenne of French cinema for his first French language film, exploring gender politics and the disconcerting link between sex & violence in this stylish and subversive drama/thriller about outwardly successful but inwardly broken people.

Huppert stars as determined and unflappable tech company CEO and middle-aged divorcée mother ‘Michèle’, whose life takes a sinister turn when she’s violently raped in her home by a mystery man—unlocking traumatic childhood memories and changing her dysfunctional relationships with friends and family. But rather than being devastated by her experience, she begins a search for an assailant which reveals her own complex psyche and unlocks some troubling proclivities.

It’s no surprise that Verhoeven chose as his source material the award-winning novel “Oh…” from writer Philippe Djian (Betty Blue, Unforgivable)— a fellow storyteller with a penchant for dangerous women—providing material which subverts gender roles and the traditional ‘stalker’ narrative, while balancing misogyny and feminism using a dose of perversion and dark humour. The film’s frank and matter-of-fact treatment of its controversial subject matter is also a commentary on our hypocritical society, one which tries to sanitise and separate its cultural and media obsession with sex & violence, but fully embraces it as long as it’s highly stylised and well-packaged.

Immediately from the start ‘Elle’ is a provocative and deliberately unsettling story, with Verhoeven setting the tone and declaring his intentions early, fully justifying a hard-to-earn 18-rating with a blend of graphic sexuality and violence which betrays the film’s glossy veneer of respectability, something which perfectly reflects the character of the film’s protagonist.

Perhaps the most unsettling element of the film though is ‘Michèle’ herself and her almost nonchalant reaction to the sinister ordeal . . . and indeed life in general. For mainstream audiences who might be used to a certain interpretation of a ‘victim’ in this kind of film, her actions and deliberately unsympathetic nature might be confounding and troublesome—as they’re meant to be—but are also key to revealing a perplexing psyche which is captured by a film-carrying performance from Huppert, who as always exudes a quiet confidence and sophistication while displaying an inexplicably endearing arrogance.

‘Elle’ isn’t however a drama for all seasons and is sure to prove an acquired taste when it comes to its unflinching depictions of sex and violence and the frank way it deals with them, not to mention the fact that it does at times stumble on a few genre clichés, despite also breaking many of its conventions. Perhaps the biggest stumbling block for some will be the film’s changing narrative flow—which meanders a bit—and its compromised momentum, which turns away from a traditional tense thriller like ‘Gone Girl’ into dark psychological drama territory with certain reveals, and when the mystery element is removed.

Yet despite not being a flawlessly executed or perfectly taught thriller, ‘Elle’ manages to be fresh and fascinatingly dark drama with plenty to say about our 21st century society and more than provocative enough to hold your attention throughout (although probably too much for those with delicate sensibilities), alluringly unravelling the disturbing intricacies of a complex character . . . despite only scratching the surface of a perplexing and evolving psyche.

The Bottom Line…

Dark and brazen, comical and confounding, subversive and salacious, but most importantly gripping and entertaining—‘Elle’ is Paul Verhoeven at his provocative best and with plenty to say about our perverse society and the carnal inclinations of broken people. All brought to life by a performance as adept as it is disturbing and fearless from Isabelle Huppert, which deserves all of its recent award recognition . . . and more.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Crash (1996)

While in an open marriage with a faltering sex life, a couple’s life is turned upside down when a fatal car-crash unlocks disturbing sexual proclivities related to violence and trauma, plunging them into a dark subculture which could just as easily destroy them as it could save their bizarre relationship, in this controversial and provocative drama from David Cronenberg.

Directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Spader, Holly Hunter and Deborah Kara Unger among others.

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