Hey everyone, welcome back to “Alex’s Foreign Foray”. Today’s segment focuses on the 2016 French film Elle, directed by Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Total Recall, Starship Troopers).
If you’re new to the series, you can see what it’s all about in part one found here.
Our journey continues this week as we remain in France.
I’m also trying out a different style this week, dropping the spoilers section in favour of a more “traditional” review. We’ll see what version sticks in the future.
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Let me preface today’s segment by saying that Elle can be very disturbing at times, and deals with some very serious issues. I chose it because of the buzz I heard about it in 2016, particularly surrounding lead actress Isabelle Huppert. If you’re following along and watching the films in this series, viewer discretion is advised for this one.
Elle is a French film about a successful businesswoman who becomes enthralled in a game of cat and mouse with the man who raped her. It’s heavy stuff, even from the first scene, but it’s a solid film nonetheless.
Huppert earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance and I can see why. The French actress commands the screen at all times and carries the film with ease. She is able to bring a nuanced and cunning nature to her role, and often I was taken aback by the depth she was able to bring the character to, most effectively without the use of dialogue. Often times Huppert communicates without speaking, either to others or alone, to herself. She earns that nomination and arguably could have won that year, as she takes the film to another level.
The supporting cast also holds their own and everyone feels at home in their parts. The ensemble as a whole does a great job bringing this world of kinda despicable people to life, and I found that all those performances were also elevated whenever they interacted with Huppert.
Of course, the actors can’t act if there isn’t anything to work with. The script is clever and balances mystery with character building. More than anything, Elle is a character study. We see this traumatic event and how it changes the lead character practically through her eyes. At times, we don’t know who to trust, and we can see her growth and evolution throughout. Michèle’s cunning nature and ability to compose herself through the toughest possible situation is empowering to see.
Verhoeven’s direction is also stellar. I found that a lot of the general attributes of the film fit together, and the shots were composed well. A couple shots I noticed where we were focused on a character or two in the foreground while an unnamed character (whose face we never see) is doing something in the background, out of focus. We don’t need to see that person to know the implications of the scene and their actions, and even though we’re focused on central characters, that looming presence is ever there.
Oddly enough, Elle has plenty of moments of genuine dark humour. I found myself laughing several times — even though I knew I shouldn’t be — at some lines or situations. For such a dark film to have humour that lands so well is a feat. In fact, I’ve seen it referred to as a dark comedy, or even a “rape comedy”, by some people. While I don’t agree wholeheartedly that this is a comedy (I’d think of it more as an empowering revenge thriller), it does have quite a few moments that made me laugh.
(Also, I’m not sure what the significance of using the game Styx was, but it was interesting to see. I own it but haven’t gotten around to it. I wonder if some of the stuff we see in this film is in it… if so, it must be a strange game).
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Elle Overall – 4 out of 5
At the end of it all, Elle is a dark and intense psychological thriller that taps into the minds of human nature and masculine nature. It’s carried by an excellent performance from its lead and a great cast. It’s a film I recommend to those who think they can handle the subject matter.
For those wanting to check out the film, you can get it from Amazon on Blu-ray or it’s also available if you are subscribed to Starz.
NEXT TIME: We head to the United Kingdom to watch the 2015 version of Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.
The Journey So Far
I’m really going to try to get a better version of this, especially as I see how full it’s getting.
