Review of Elle (2016) by Frame R — 03 Apr 2018

The french lady who won a Golden Globe and you were like "Wait, who?" pulls out a Cotillard.

ELLE.

I came to take notice of this film from seeing the results of Oscar-precursor award circles that consistently kept handing out the Best Actress award for Isabelle Huppert, who I had known since Amour, a better movie than this one which managed to win the Oscar for Best Foreign. Although Elle is out of the race, Huppert vehemently continues this marathon as known as Oscar season, in hopes of mirroring the course of Marion Cotillard's golden European success (though at this point, I'd more quickly bet on Portman or Stone). But Huppert deserves all the Oscar buzz she can get! This stands out as one of those movies that primarily pivots around a stellar performance. It's often in biopics and psychological thrillers that actresses can shine the most and this is an incredible example of the latter. Huppert and Verhoeven build such a complex character: cold, flawed, domineering and relatable! We follow as she goes through hardship after hardship with a calm demeanor and frantic inner mind and you can't stand to look away. Everything she does is part of a calculated performance leading to a better understanding of the character's psyche. She picks up her cat, she closes a window, she visits her mother but that's just a pinch of salt to what it's going on. She's the year's best antihero, a psycho that slays you with every look, the one who you secretly want to be. She's the Miranda Priestley that you actually could become. The problem is that the film is cut about 10min too long and the directing could have been more inventive, as it doesn't quite catches up to Huppert's performance. Notwithstanding, Verhoeven manages to offer a great film that, surprisingly, is the most sexually charged of his eclectic career. The first scene is first-class, and the first to third shots are the year's best start. A man that does Robocop, opens up Sharon Stone's legs to the world and gives more personality to Elle's cat than any film directed by Michael Bay, should receive a riveting brava!