When Paul Verhoeven makes a film, it is rarely anything tame expected. It doesn’t matter whether he lets off steam in the science fiction genre (RoboCop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers) or returns to the past for a historical film (Black Book, Benedetta): basically all his works offer endless topics for discussion.
That includes Elle. The psychological psychological thriller starring Isabelle Huppert premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 and caused the different reactions. From brilliant to problematic, everything was there. We loved Elle so much that we included it in the Top 100 Movies of the 2010s.
Terrific psychological thriller: In Elle, Paul Verhoeven crosses several borders at the same time
Based on the French novel Oh… by Philippe Djian tells Elle about the businesswoman Michèle (Isabelle Huppert), who shows an intrepid demeanor. She runs a successful video game company and is valued by her peers in the industry for her focused work.
You can watch the trailer for Elle here:
Elle – Trailer (German) HD
But then something unexpected happens: when Michèle is alone in her Paris apartment one day, she is taken in by a strange man mugged and raped. Your first instinct is to go to the police. In the end, Michèle reconsidered the matter and went in search of the culprit himself.
It’s just one of many border crossings that take place throughout the film. With precise eyes and an unexpected amount of humor, Verhoeven explores the inner world of his protagonist, especially when she focuses on a passionate affair getting involved with her rapist. At this point at the latest, Elle no longer follows any rules.
Although Verhoeven has stood for provocative cinema since the beginning of his career, Elle is likely to most remarkable balancing act be in his work. Films like RoboCop and Co. are significantly harder and sharper and ultimately clearer. Elle devotedly blurs boundaries and challenges us with every new scene.
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