Film No. 62 (2016) October 11th. 6.45 PM LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge.
"The real danger, Michelle, is you" (Husband to wife conversation).
Paul Verhoeven is a gifted film maker. Robocop, Starship Troopers and Basic Instinct are testament to his versatility and talent. Elle fits nicely with Verhoeven's contributions to the thriller genre in a not too disimilar style to the way Basic Instinct exploded onto world wide screens in 1992. Elle is a better film than B.I. with a far more twisted, self-centred main character than Stone's Catherine Trammel; Michelle, played by Isabelle Huppert. Elle won't however have the same Box Office impact as B.I.
Michelle is a "piece of work". She is raped in her own home one evening and she decides there is but one way to respond; to take matters into ones own hands. Verhoeven from here gives us a stylized thriller which revolves entirely around the complex axis of Huppert's Michelle.
There are holes in Elle, as there are holes in all noir films. Red herrings of the obvious kind abound throughout but they are all carried off with style and an ounce of "tongue in cheek". Michelle has money and is an astute business owner of a successful IT games development company. One wonders if fixation with the unreal world has flowed into her own reality. At home she becomes fixated with her cat, then with neighbour Patrick (Charles Berling) a handsome distraction.
Huppert is worth the price of a ticket for Elle. Michelle is easy to dislike as she treats family, friends and employees as pawns in her thirst to get whatever it is she wants. The ease with which we acquire this dislike is testament to Huppert's brilliance. The cruel way she treats her mother is a particular highlight. In short, Elle is flawed but Huppert is flawless. 8GUMS.
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