Paul Verhoeven's ELLE starring Isabelle Huppert: transgressive feminist satire or arthouse exploitation?

friend in NJ went to see it today, i think it just went wide(r) last weekend?

He, the literal he/Hitchcock, would have been more Victorian, sure, but this seems to press most of his buttons re: damaged/damaging women, sex and violence and the unlikely humor that comes from their intersection. If his life had been scaled forward a few decades, and acceptable sex, violence and sexual violence been as graphic as it is today, he would have dived right in. What I suppose this one lacked was one of his trademark set pieces or elaborate camera set-ups. Speaking of that, I'm not sure it showed much in common with Verhoeven's own past style, save a nod or two (scissors!). Has Verhoeven ever worked much with this much hand-held cinematography or (more or less) natural lighting? This movie looked great, but his other stuff is a lot more formally hyper-attuned in its artifice.

That said, no other director gets fake blood as right as this guy.

The said, I thought of Frenzy a lot as I watched it. And The Piano Teacher, natch.

Has Verhoeven ever worked much with this much hand-held cinematography or (more or less) natural lighting? This movie looked great, but his other stuff is a lot more formally hyper-attuned in its artifice.

Yeah this is a pretty new aesthetic for him, it doesn't even really feel in line with his pre-Soldier of Orange work, then again I don't think he's ever given over nearly as much creative control to his lead before

just won the Globe for foreign feature

Sorry, Paul Verhoeven, but Isabelle Huppert’s character is a woman with whom I have much sympathy — we’re all surrounded by fools.

I've not seen it but she sle always gives off the aura of not sufferimg fools gladly. I love her so much.

Saw it today, really astounding. Huppert is brilliant.

I'm fairly confident she'll get nominated.

for the Nobel?

to run for mayor of NYC and as Dem prez candidate

I thought this was a mess. I liked the first 30 minutes or so but the tonal register is all over the place and nothing seemed to really land and there was a lot of stupid stuff in there like the son's mixed race child. I liked the actor though. I thought it was surprisingly timid too. I love IH but I thought her work wasn't really enough to sustain it.

The idea is that those strands and tonal registers get filtered through Huppert.

I think I got that but didn't think it worked. What can I say. I actually enjoyed it for the most part but thought it was stupid, on the whole. I think it seems like a film where any objection you may have might be intentional. Like when the rapist was revealed I thought, well, it didn't matter who it was and it could have been anyone, it could even have been her son, for example. Bit it was the guy you thought it probably was. I thought it wasn't extreme enough. Actually the most extreme thing is in the first ten minutes when she's taking a bath and the blood appears in the bubble bath.

Incredibly entertaining and enlightening and funny interview here. I looked at the stream near the end and was disappointed that there were only ten minutes left because I just wanted her to talk to me forever

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-chatter-podcast-isabelle-huppert-elle-976899

I'd forgotten the moment when Huppert's prospective daughter in law's going into labor on a gurney, howling, and Huppert says, "I think I'm going to get a coffee" and the camera pans to a shocked Charles Berling.

Like when the rapist was revealed I thought, well, it didn't matter who it was and it could have been anyone, it could even have been her son, for example. Bit it was the guy you thought it probably was.

That was a non-mystery. Kinda obvious and more about events post-discovery.

The tone was of a consistent trolling one (overexcited and exhausting). Just felt like - and I've never read him, but by the reviews - a work by Houellebecq. Lets make the rapist's wife a Catholic (hot blonde too of course). Huppert's ex is now going out with a younger woman - but lets also add she's a yoga teacher (and Bikram at that, the sweaty westernized shit clueless sort). The men are almost all laughably clueless apart from the rapist (except you know, he's a rapist) and Huppert's father (a mass murderer). Huppert by contrast is just this incredible superwoman in her strenght to deal with the madness in her childhood, divorce, shit son and guys, bitchy daighter-in-law, mother growing older disgracefully with a gigolo (followed by death), and that's even before we get to her being raped (not shown once but twice, just bcz).

It says a LOT that Huppert makes this watchable.

Benedetta trailer is out. It looks awesome.

Is Greta any good?

I really can't imagine that it is, late neil jordan....

Oh I had no idea.

a habit-ripper! get hype

I can make a Scissor Sisters joke but ... ah merde!

Looks completely OTT and I’m here for it.

also, my man turns 83 this summer, so our sleaze supply might soon come to an end :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgaLlP0xmqE