Outrageous, offensive crap
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| Huppert is the sole reason to watch this highly offensive thriller/drama |
In the opening shots, we hear a woman moaning and crying in agony, while the camera is on her pet cat, who looks over the scene with a curious expression. It is clear that she is being raped and beaten up by her assaulter. The next scene - that same woman is calm and composed, cleaning up the broken china scattered across her sumptuous living room. Afterwords, she takes a bubble bath, her countenance free from anything but curiosity. She takes a mandatory STD checkup, and after a day or two, she announces during a dinner with her friends that she had been raped. Too much composure for a rape victim, that's for sure.
And that's just the beginning - Elle, directed by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, gets even crazier over the duration of the film. Michèle Leblanc (played by Isabelle Huppert) is middle aged uptown Parisian businesswoman who lives alone in her luxurious apartment. She runs a video-game company with her friend. Her relationships with family and friends are ever swinging and swaying to extremes - she has a cold relationship with her gaudy, flamboyant mother; her son is doing nothing with his life except for trailing his pregnant girlfriend like a puppy. She is also having an affair with her friend's husband and she has a thing for her neighbor too. Much worse is her troubled past - her father was a mass-shooter who is in jail, serving his life sentence, and she has vowed to never see him again.
Since Michèle does not want to involve with police (she has her reasons), so she decides to track her assaulter by her own means. But things get out of her control, she gets a lewd message on her phone from unknown number and one day, a faux-animation of her being raped by a gaming creature is broadcasted throughout her office. Trying to manage the entire chain of events, she asks her employee to hack into personal accounts of everyone working for her, so that she can discover the real culprit who has created the obscene video. Then within some days or so and without any leads, she forgets, and her life goes on with its complications. But it happens again - not only once, but twice, rape is played as a plot device. The second time however, the assaulter is unmasked by Michèle after she stabs his hand with a scissor - and then follows a third act with complete turn of events which will unsettle even the most liberal of viewers.
What a crazy, deluded and absurd the third act is. Without spoiling much, I can only say that involves a sadomasochistic relationship, which is primarily meant to offend you or at least shock you in some level. Offensive it definitely is, shocking not much, given the history of Verhoeven's affinity for sensationalism. There is nothing in the film which justifies why Michèle behaves the way she behaves - no, not even the equally implausible sub-plot regarding a violent, traumatic childhood event. The script plays out in an uneven tone, ranging from farcical comedy to tragic drama, which only adds to the film's issues.
But what keeps Elle from being a completely disgusting piece of pretentious art house cinema is the bold and reckless performance by Isabelle Huppert. For most of its two hours, Huppert is the center of focus in the story and not even once you lose the interest in her character, irrespective of how questionable Michèle's decisions are. Huppert portrays her with a unique flair and a powerful allure, stacking on layers of fascinating shades. She is Elle.
The film holds your attention with its twists and turns, satirical situations and charming views of Paris. But nothing can sugar-coat the horrible rape plot-device. Verhoeven has said that the film is a fantasy - so I take it as one. But issue is, Elle is neither believable enough for a realistic drama nor engrossing enough for a fantasy. It is a misogynist propaganda masquerading as a pseudo-liberal feminism. If you want to watch this film, watch it for Huppert, who has given a performance which will be remembered and talked for a very long time.
2/5
Since Michèle does not want to involve with police (she has her reasons), so she decides to track her assaulter by her own means. But things get out of her control, she gets a lewd message on her phone from unknown number and one day, a faux-animation of her being raped by a gaming creature is broadcasted throughout her office. Trying to manage the entire chain of events, she asks her employee to hack into personal accounts of everyone working for her, so that she can discover the real culprit who has created the obscene video. Then within some days or so and without any leads, she forgets, and her life goes on with its complications. But it happens again - not only once, but twice, rape is played as a plot device. The second time however, the assaulter is unmasked by Michèle after she stabs his hand with a scissor - and then follows a third act with complete turn of events which will unsettle even the most liberal of viewers.
What a crazy, deluded and absurd the third act is. Without spoiling much, I can only say that involves a sadomasochistic relationship, which is primarily meant to offend you or at least shock you in some level. Offensive it definitely is, shocking not much, given the history of Verhoeven's affinity for sensationalism. There is nothing in the film which justifies why Michèle behaves the way she behaves - no, not even the equally implausible sub-plot regarding a violent, traumatic childhood event. The script plays out in an uneven tone, ranging from farcical comedy to tragic drama, which only adds to the film's issues.
But what keeps Elle from being a completely disgusting piece of pretentious art house cinema is the bold and reckless performance by Isabelle Huppert. For most of its two hours, Huppert is the center of focus in the story and not even once you lose the interest in her character, irrespective of how questionable Michèle's decisions are. Huppert portrays her with a unique flair and a powerful allure, stacking on layers of fascinating shades. She is Elle.
The film holds your attention with its twists and turns, satirical situations and charming views of Paris. But nothing can sugar-coat the horrible rape plot-device. Verhoeven has said that the film is a fantasy - so I take it as one. But issue is, Elle is neither believable enough for a realistic drama nor engrossing enough for a fantasy. It is a misogynist propaganda masquerading as a pseudo-liberal feminism. If you want to watch this film, watch it for Huppert, who has given a performance which will be remembered and talked for a very long time.
2/5
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