Paul
Verhoeven’s new film ELLE, his first in a decade and the French language and
location debut of the Dutch-born director, tells of hard-charging video game
production company co-owner Michele (Isabelle Huppert, at the top of her game),
and her unusual—to say the least—response to the brutal home invasion and
sexual assault that opens the action.
This
sinewy, provocative thriller has been compared to the work of Luis Buñuel,
Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma, and those comparisons are well-earned. Yet
there’s also a certain disconnect to it, as life-altering events amongst
Michele and her friends and family pass with little or no emotional toll
evident to the characters. This creates an odd, occasionally distracting air of
surrealism that can feel at odds with the story’s chilling plausibility.
Even before
the rape, Michele led a complicated life. Not one for niceties, she is
downright dismissive of her mother Irene (Judith Magre) yet tolerant of her
ex-husband (Charles Berling). Her headstrong son Vincent (Jonas Bloquet) causes
her no end of exasperation, but she seems unusually close to her business
partner Anna (Ann Consigny) and her husband Robert (Christian Berkel). And
that’s before she cosies up to her religious neighbours Rebecca (Virginie
Efira) and Patrick (Laurent Lafitte).
Isabelle Huppert in Paul Verhoeven's Elle |
Well into
the process of adapting Philippe Dijian’s novel “Oh…,” the film was meant to be
shot in the United States (this explains why the screenwriter, David Birke, is
American). Verhoeven readily admits to cold feet at the prospect of finding an
American actress ready or willing to take on the formidable role of Michele.
The shift to a French metropolis makes sense for a number of reasons, not the
least of which is the clichéd view of that culture’s romantic entanglements, of
which there are many.
Despite any
misgivings, in the end it’s good to have Paul Verhoeven back and displaying the
kind of confidence that propelled his career. Ambitious films are often flawed,
but the best of those can propel themselves past such shortcomings. ELLE, which
will represent France in the upcoming Foreign Film race at the Academy Awards,
narrowly risks overstaying its 131-minute running time but bulls through on the
strength of Verhoeven’s patented swagger and Huppert’s emotional intelligence.
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