Elle (2016)

A successful businesswoman gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse as she tracks down the unknown man who raped her.

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

Philippe Djian (novel), David Birke (screenplay)

Stars:

Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 67 wins & 82 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isabelle Huppert	...	Michèle
Laurent Lafitte	...	Patrick (as Laurent Lafitte de la Comédie Française)
Anne Consigny	...	Anna
Charles Berling	...	Richard
Virginie Efira	...	Rebecca
Judith Magre	...	Irène
Christian Berkel	...	Robert
Jonas Bloquet	...	Vincent
Alice Isaaz	...	Josie
Vimala Pons	...	Hélène
Raphaël Lenglet	...	Ralf
Arthur Mazet	...	Kevin
Lucas Prisor	...	Kurt
Hugo Conzelmann	...	Philipp Kwan
Stéphane Bak	...	Omar

Storyline

Michèle seems indestructible. Head of a successful video game company, she brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to business. Being attacked in her home by an unknown assailant changes Michèle's life forever. When she resolutely tracks the man down, they are both drawn into a curious and thrilling game-a game that may, at any moment, spiral out of control.

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Plot Keywords:

video game industry | rape | video game company | opening scene repeated later in film | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

An Oscar-worthy performance from Isabelle Huppert!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence involving sexual assault, disturbing sexual content, some grisly images, brief graphic nudity, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Germany Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Oh!

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€9,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,389,814, 16 January 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

SBS Productions, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion GmbH, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Isabelle Huppert was 63 years old when she made this film.

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Goofs

At the Christmas Eve house party, one of the guests asks to watch midnight mass on the TV. The TVs shoes Pope Francis celebrating mass from St Peter's in Rome. There is never such a midnight mass. The Christmas vigil mass it tends to be at 7 or 8 pm in the evening.

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Quotes

Robert: What did you do?
Michèle Leblanc: I stopped lying.

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Connections

Referenced in Half in the Bag: Slender Man (2018)

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Soundtracks

Come Follow Me
Written by Bob Bradley

User Reviews

The good old Paul

"Elle" means "She" - the whole movie is seen through the eyes of the character played by Isabelle Huppert, a woman being victim of an aggression in the first scene of the film.

From there you will probably be unable to predict the plot, as its structure doesn't follow the rules we've been used to. At one point during the screening I thought the movie would end soon but it went on and was still engaging. At first you might think it's just a thriller but the writing has more to offer and deploys in original ways.

Isabelle Huppert delivers a great performance playing a strong female character, something quite rare in movies.

The film can be quite shocking, but never gratuitous. Verhoeven's ability to balance a serious drama with his usual "funny" ways is thought provoking without being ponderous. This dynamic was always Verhoeven's strength, even in this kind of more "auteurish" work.

Don't await slick Hollywood style here, but a somewhat dark & gritty satire on human relationships.

Loved it, can't wait for Verhoeven's take on Jesus