Review of Elle (2016) by Marja V — 16 Nov 2016

Few filmmakers have a body of work that intersects between the elegant and the trashy like Paul Verhoeven's, but his latest film seems to finally implement the perfect ratio of the two stigmas. Certainly a cause for discussion amidst awards season solely due to its focus on rape (no less opening up with a rape scene), but Elle is a far richer tapestry than one might expect, and the movie is actually hardly about victimization.

It plays out in a completely unorthodox fashion, punctuated by a brilliantly subdued editing job, and black humor that finds tact in the repellent, complete with sex-violence parallels that are chillingly resonant.

Of course, the film's material calls for a masterful performance, and Isabelle Huppert gives one here that stands out even amidst a career with no shortage of outstanding roles. Playing a character that is both a strong woman as well as an unspeakably damaged one, it's quite the role Huppert's career has been building up to, and she illuminates literally every scene of the film.

Possibly Verhoeven's very best film, and probably the most disturbingly provocative one you'll see all year (if not several).