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Elle
2016 131 min Belgium, France, Germany R 18+
★7.7
Drama, Thriller
Director: Paul Verhoeven
🎭 Based on
«"Oh…"»
byPhilippe Djian
Trailers
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Teaser
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Description
When Michèle, the CEO of a gaming software company, is attacked in her home by an unknown assailant, she refuses to let it alter her precisely ordered life. She manages crises involving family, all the while becoming engaged in a game of cat and mouse with her stalker.
Budget:
$9.8M
US Gross:
$2.34M
Worldwide:
$2.34M
Starring
Isabelle Huppert
Actor
Laurent Lafitte
Actor
Anne Consigny
Actor
Awards
Golden Globe 2017
— Best Actress (Drama)
César Awards 2017
— Best Picture
César Awards 2017
— Best Actress
César Awards 2017
— Best Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globe 2017
— Best Actress (Drama)
César Awards 2017
— Best Picture
César Awards 2017
— Best Actress
César Awards 2017
— Best Cinematography
Goya Awards 2017
— Best European Film
Saturn Awards 2017
— Best International Feature Film
European Film Awards 2016
— Best Actress
European Film Awards 2016
— Best Director
César Awards 2017
— Best Supporting Actor
Academy Awards 2017
— Best Actress
Golden Globe 2017
— Best International Feature Film
European Film Awards 2016
— Best Picture
BAFTA 2018
— Best International Feature Film
Cannes Film Festival 2016
— Palme d'Or
César Awards 2017
— Most Promising Actor
César Awards 2017
— Best Supporting Actress
César Awards 2017
— Best Original Score
Key opinion
Elle is a polarizing and provocative work that subverts genre conventions through a cold, satirical lens. While Isabelle Huppert’s performance is widely heralded as the film's anchor, audience reactions remain deeply split over the director's treatment of sexual violence and the protagonist's unconventional responses to trauma.
| Acting | Isabelle Huppert delivers a powerful, icy, and multifaceted performance that sustains the film's complex psychological depth. | |
| Direction | Paul Verhoeven successfully subverts the conventional thriller format, utilizing satire and dark humor to challenge audience expectations. | |
| Theme | The film features a highly divisive depiction of sexual assault and trauma, with some viewers finding the protagonist's reaction and the film's tone transgressive and compelling, while others perceive it as glamorizing violence or harmful to victims. | |
| Pacing | The pacing and narrative structure divide viewers; some appreciate the deliberate, character-driven focus, while others find the plot to be dragging and lacking a cohesive momentum. | |
| Originality | The film’s tone is subject to conflicting interpretations, viewed alternately as a sophisticated, subversive black comedy and an unnecessarily hollow or disjointed collection of shock tactics. |