Elles (2011)

On her latest assignment, a journalist for Elle immerses herself in a prostitution ring run by university students.

Director:

Malgorzata Szumowska (as Malgoska Szumowska)

Writers:

Tine Byrckel, Malgorzata Szumowska (as Malgoska Szumowska)

Stars:

Juliette Binoche, Anaïs Demoustier, Joanna Kulig

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juliette Binoche	...	Anne
Anaïs Demoustier	...	Charlotte
Joanna Kulig	...	Alicja
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing	...	Patrick
Krystyna Janda	...	La mère d'Anne
Andrzej Chyra	...	Le client sadique
Ali Marhyar	...	Saïd
Jean-Marie Binoche	...	Le père d'Anne
François Civil	...	Florent
Pablo Beugnet	...	Stéphane
Valérie Dréville	...	La mère de Charlotte
Jean-Louis Coulloc'h	...	Le père de Charlotte
Arthur Moncla	...	Thomas
Scali Delpeyrat	...	Charles
Laurence Ragon	...	Colette

Storyline

Anne (Juliette Binoche), a well-off, Paris-based mother of two and investigative journalist for ELLE, is writing an article about student prostitution. Her meetings with two fiercely independent young women, Alicja (Joanna Kulig) and Charlotte (Anais Demoustier), are profound and unsettling, moving her to question her most intimate convictions about money, family and sex.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitution | student | sex | f rated | girl in panties | 

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Taglines:

The world's oldest profession still has its secrets.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite Official Facebook

Country:

France Poland Germany

Language:

French English Polish

Release Date:

1 February 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

Ellas

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,286, 29 April 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$157,427, 9 September 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Slot Machine,Zentropa International Poland,Zentropa International Köln

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actress Emma Watson's favorite film of 2011. [Indiewire, Nov.21, 2011]

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Soundtracks

Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48
Composed by Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Iwona Klimaszewska

User Reviews

Sexual revolution happened more than 50 years ago.

Elles is the first movie I've seen that does nothing for the conviction behind its original premise--feminism. On the contrary; it reinforces the notion that women are sex objects with erotic capital, and concludes with the lead character desperate for regression.

In this fifth feature by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska, lead character Anne (Juliette Binoche) ultimately conforms to gender roles dictated by society: mother, wife, house wife, cook, journalist, bed partner, fellatio provider.

Set against picturesque Paris; we see Anne living in modern, hectic existence with a husband and two troubled teenagers. When her family departs for work and school in the morning, Anne redirects her energy towards freelance journalism for Elle magazine. She is midway through an article about young women in the sex industry and two students are being anonymously profiled.

Here, Szumowska combines two narrative structures: interview flashbacks where Charlotte and Alicja recount how they fell into sex work; subjective perspective as Anne receives new insights from the girls. As the plot unfolds, we notice a gradual change in Anne's attitude towards sexual freedom and a glaring difference emerging from her private and professional lives.

Charlotte (Anaïs Demoustier) is a sweet-natured college student struggling to make ends meet. Unable to cope with part-time work demanding long and irregulars hours; she is drawn to the lucrative income and flexible hours. Alicja(Joanna Kulig) is Polish and a new character to the city; without sufficient funds from her family, securing basic food and lodging are left to her own devices.

Both women are typical victims with sob stories: they fell into the industry out of limited financial means, but emerge sexually liberated and continue out of want. By virtue of proximity; Anne bonds with Alicja and frustrations with her own circumstances grow, culminating in neurotic epiphany during a dinner party at home.

Some controversial films (Irreversible, I Stand Alone) depict graphic scenes because they are designed to enhance complexity in their narratives, Elles isn't one of them. Its original synopsis promises women's empowerment, freedom and liberation--but aesthetic patterns say otherwise. There are explicit imageries depicting sexual encounters by Charlotte and Alicjia executed without coherence to the emphasis on social-emotional variables claimed by Szumowska.

Sexual revolution occurred more than fifty years ago; yet the film is set in one of the most developed cities among metropolitan states. Granted things are still plausible within the context of helpless migrants--it speaks for the level of reality Elles operates on. That characterizations reinforce not only stereotypes, but misinformation surrounding the "bleak and reluctant lives" of sex workers further disconnects to the point of retrogression.

The range of "secrets" explored in Elles are extraordinarily obvious, narrow and misdirected; honest performances are also stymied by distasteful direction. Joseph Kosma's Les feuilles mortes (literally "The Dead Leaves")may have you humming away in irony when the credits finally begin to roll.

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