एली

From the late 1980's into the 1990's, Paul Veerhoven was one of the biggest names working behind the camera in Hollywood. Starting with 1987's Robocop and continuing through Total Recall, Basic Instinct and Starship Troopers, Veerhoven mastered the sex and violence ties that brought audiences out to his films in droves.

But 1995's Showgirls ended his run of good fortune. Considered by most to be one of the worst films of the 90's (it's not), Showgirls all but put Veerhoven in Guantanamo Hollywood prison. And since 2000, Veerhoven has directed but three films – Hollow Man, Black Book and Tricked.

With any fortune, Veerhoven will no longer take such a long sabbatical after his latest effort, Elle which was nominated for the Palme D'Or at Cannes and had its North American Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this past Friday.

Elle stars Isabelle Huppert as Michele, a corporate CEO of a small video-game design company who deals with the emotional effects of a rape that occurs before the screen even fades in with the open scene. When audiences do get more than the horrifying audio of the assault, we view Michele as she fights with a masked intruder on the floor of her home. Beaten and raped, Michele cleans up and continues with her life. A prior bad history with the police leaves her not wanting to report the crime and stoically she marches on with the rape but a blip on life's resume.

But as time slowly separates her from the initial attack, it is clear that the attacker is not yet finished with is prey. Michele begins to find her house violated again by the unknown assailant and text messages from the rapist only further the intrigue. But Michele is no victim. She fantasizes about another return visit from the attacker with a more favorable result. And through her emotions she remains consistent in behavior which comes to a shock to others when she reveals the details of the attack.

Making things more complex for Michelle is her circle of family and friends. A father doing time for being a serial murder, a mother who pays young studs for sex, a son who can't hold either a job or a girlfriend and her co-workers, some of which she is sexually active with, only complicate her delicate situation.

Although Elle might seem like a mystery thriller, it is more of a character driven drama than a 'can-you-guess-who's-behind-the-mask'. So much so that Veerhoven reveals the face behind the ski mask early in the second half of the film. The reveal is to both the audience and to Michelle and how she continues to explore events on her own terms is as fascinating as it is head-scratching.

Although Veerhoven has routinely had strong women roles in his films, nothing is on par with Huppert's Michelle. The film is carried by her strong and intoxicating performance and Huppert is remarkably able to keep us involved and rooting for a woman who is mean and calculating to all those associated with her path.

Events don't exactly zig and zag towards an ending but I doubt audiences will be able to stay ahead of the smart script in determining what might occur next to our protagonist.

Elle isn't perfect, but it is perfectly cast and executed. The story will leave most in the cold and it isn't a feel-good film even if everything does eventually work itself into a nicely bowed present before the end title card.

Apparently so controversial that several American actors passed up on the opportunity to play the lead part and Paul Verhoeven had to take his long-awaited return (to form at least) out of the US entirely, this subversive pseudo psycho-sexual thriller represents a rather unique take on the tried and tested rape-revenge genre, moving far away from pure exploitation and instead heading into an enthralling exploration of the taboo desires of slightly sociopathic people. There's nothing really conventional about 'Elle (2017)' and that might be what makes it so compelling, with the absolutely phenomenal screenplay brought to life by equally engaging, rivetingly realistic power-house performances, and the fact that each intriguing new layer just feels so natural despite the brazenly bizarre tone and inconsistent pacing is a testament to the rich character development and world building that makes the piece seem so wholly believable. 7/10

After seeing this film at Cannes, it left me with rather mixed emotions, and I continued thinking about it for quite some time after; so after much thought, I decided it was time to write a review of this new French new flick. 'Elle' is a thought-provoking thriller from the hands of Dutch auteur Paul Verhoeven that is definitely not suitable for the younger audiences. Verhoeven has a tendency to venture down more explicit routes (think of 'Showgirls'), but this time took a psychological approach creating a film that will definitely leave you thinking.

Now, the plot can be rather convoluted. The film runs several plot lines alongside each other and at times, you can lose track of certain characters, but if you pay close enough attention, you'll fully appreciate the complex, yet original structure Verhoeven has created. The performances in the film are all fantastic, and the direction is magnificent (Verhoeven actually took to learning French as a new language so he could utilise an entire French crew), the cinematography and soundtrack both make great accompaniments, but I personally think the film's structure was the only downside to the film.

The subject matter is rather grim, revolving around sexual assault and the estranged relationship between the main character and her parents, but there are instances of humour that just give that little hint of lightheartedness to a relatively dark premise. All-in- all I would definitely recommend this film if you're a fan of dark thrillers along the lines of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' etc, but be prepared for a no-holds brazen thriller. Nonetheless, Verhoeven has made a sincere thriller that kept me thinking well after the credits had finished, so congratulations to him for that, and for undertaking the somewhat "risky" subject matter.

No, folks, Paul Verhoeven has not changed, not at all, and I doubt if he will in the future. He has never made any French feature before this one, but if I had seen this movie without knowing the director's name, I would have recognized him after only forty five minutes. And if you remove all the provocative sequences, you have the feeling to watch a Claude Chabrol's film, and not only because of Isabelle Huppert's presence. This film looks like a mix up between Verhoeven, Hitchcock and Chabrol, especially concerning the bourgeois families criticism...Verhoeven still loves provoking, shocking the audiences. The screenplay is not made with a strong suspense but despite that, you are glued to this movie. No suspense here, except concerning the rapist identity. But once you know him, you guess that the movie will finish, but it continues, and no, you are not bored. A real curiosity. Isabelle has a way of playing with her face, an expression that only her has. Especially when she says to some one that she has no opinion or something like that. Only her reacts this way.

Paul Verhoeven got famous with Robocop and other action-packed sci-fi films. A while ago I watched a couple of his early films which were completely different in style; dramas with a lot to do with sexuality. Now I got to see one of his newer ones. In some way "Elle" goes back towards his roots of love/sex themed drama, but it also more mature compared to his wild youthful early films.

From what I had read I expected a "revenge flick" but that wasn't entirely the case. There is some of that thematic but more than that it's a drama with complicated relations between the characters. To be honest, I didn't entirely understand all of their motivations but I still liked the way it made me ask questions and think about psychology.

Isabelle Huppert is the lead actress and she literally leads the show. She acts very good, and the character she plays is interesting and surprising, and you never really know what she's up to. There is a theme of not agreeing to be seen a victim, and that is pretty much what the main character is about. She can be seen as an empowerment figure, though I also had a feeling that the character had some minor screw loose too. Anyway, however you interpret things the movie probably makes you think things in some new ways too. That's always a good thing that makes movies stand out.

Ps. The hatchet in still images did not have that much use. So if you are looking for a violent action film, then it's probably not going to be this one.