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 70 wins & 92 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 | rape and revenge | opening scene repeated later in film | 

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Taglines:

Ingenious!

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Verhoeven made the movie with an all-French crew which included none of his former Dutch crew members, except for his personal assistant Mita de Groot and editor Job ter Burg. He claimed that the prospect of working with an unknown crew in a new language gave him so much stress that it caused him severe headaches in the months prior to filming. However, these were gone on the first day of shooting, and due to the professionalism of the crew and their love of film, the production went very smoothly.

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Goofs

In the archive footage, the ten year old Michèle has bright blue eyes. The eyes of the adult Michèle are greenish brown.

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Quotes

Michèle Leblanc: Shame isn't a strong enough emotion to stop us from doing anything at all. Believe me.

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Connections

Features Styx: Master of Shadows (2014)

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Soundtracks

Lonely Boy
Written by Pete Masitti and Michael Verzi

User Reviews

Brilliantly Gripping

Elle is a French psychological thriller that explores the life of a businesswoman who is involved in the production of a video game, however; the film also involves the establishment of a rapist. In amongst these main topics are a number of different subsidiary story lines involving family members of the businesswoman.

If there is one thing that I will take from this film, it's the use of convoluted plot that so brilliantly grips an audience. Elle also managed to apply humour to serious topics.

In short, Philippe Djian created a gripping story that has been excellently portrayed by Paul Verhoeven on the big screen. A great effort.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Germany Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

11 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elle

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,934, 13 November 2016

Gross USA:

$2,341,534

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,748,594

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