Elle 2016

     This film is based on the novel “Oh…” by Philippe Djian.  Michele Leblanc is an independent woman living in France.  She is the CEO of a successful video game company and not timid with her love live.  Someone she doesn’t know attacks her in her home.  Michele’s life is changed forever by this crime and she resolves to track this man down.  Michele has a slacker son and his pregnant girlfriend manipulates him.  She has an ex-husband and he is dating a young yoga teacher.  She is having a boring sex fling with a married man.  Elle’s mother is elderly but she has had plenty of Botox and she is having an affair with a gigolo.  Elle stares at the handsome married neighbor across the street.

     This film quickly switches the plot line and you are shocked when suddenly an unexpected scene comes up.  Then, in your mind you need to figure out if the scene is new or a flashback?  Michele should’ve saved evidence and reported the attack to the police.  Because of experiences with the police in her past, she doesn’t do any of this.  She doesn’t take any advice from friends or family either.  This film is good but it’s too long and has repetitive scenes.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

130 min, Crime directed by Paul Verhoeven with Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling, Virginie Efira, Judith Magre, Christian Berkel.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 90% critic 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon 3.1* out of 5* with 110 reviews, Metacritic 89 out of 100 with 36 critics 7.2* out of 10* with 163 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Yvelines, Paris, Val-de-Marne, France.  Isabelle Huppert won Best Actress for a Golden Globe, Cesar Award, Film Critics, New York Film Critics, LA Film Critics, Gotham Independent and Independent Spirit.  She was nominated for an Academy Award but this went to Emma Stone.   Before production began, Paul Verhoeven didn’t speak French.  He went to a Dutch language institute to learn so he could better communicate with the cast and crew.  He initially spoke English with them but this didn’t work.  He had once been to a French school in his youth so he picked up the language quickly.  Filming began in January 2015 and because of the Paris bombings, the schedule had to be modified.  One scene was moved to another date and the shoot took over three months.  There is another film with the same title from 2013 and it’s a documentary with Harrison Huffman and Jennifer Davis.