Elle * * * * *

Elle.  Nothing simple happening here.

I remember Paul Verhoeven well from his earlier work - especially the stuff that everybody hated or misunderstood.  Though, how anybody could have misunderstood the tongue in cheek comedy of Starship Troopers or Showgirls is beyond me. But apparently some did.

For some reason he gave away directing feature films for several years, but he’s back now with a very powerful film indeed which seems to have been warmly received even though it is probably his most provocative film to date.

It starts off with a brutal rape scene by an intruder in a ski mask.  Afterward we see Elle not behaving as we expect she might.  She does not call the police, she does not call a friend.  She merely cleans up the broken glassware and china and soaks in the bath.

A few days later in a restaurant she tells friends about it in a matter-of-fact way, like it was nothing more than a minor hit and run that scratched her car:  “What can you do?” she shrugs.

We learn that Elle is a successful woman. She owns a company that make computer games.

We also learn more about her background and the terrible infamy of her imprisoned psychopathic father, and her mother who spends the allowance Elle gives her on male prostitutes.

We meet her best friends who she loves but is secretly betraying. Her son who is a drug addled mess who can’t get his life together, but is with a pregnant young girl.  Her neighbours who she invites over.  Elle flirts shamelessly with him, caressing him with her foot under the table as his wife unknowingly sits beside him.

Elle buys equipment to safeguard herself  from being assaulted again, but she seems to be more interested in finding out who has been sabotaging her authority at her office with a mocking email.

This complicated drama is both fascinating and disturbing.  But it also funny.  Elle has a sharp wit and tongue.

As the story unfolds it becomes more challenging, especially when she discovers who raped her and her reaction to the revelation, which is not what you expect.

Elle is a fascinating complex drama which presents us with characters who are not as we expect people to be -  including the way they respond to highly dramatic situations.  Though in the case of Elle, nothing can compare to what she witnessed in her childhood from her crazy father.

There is a famous photo of her as a ten year old in the aftermath of her father's rampage.  Though he did not hurt her, and she did not participate in his crimes, the black and white photograph shows her in a moment where she happily shares his craziness.

Either I’m dumb or a few wrong words of publicity have been lazily bandied around about this film suggesting it is a film of revenge.
Even though the assailant gets his comeuppance through coincidence,  in my opinion Elle barely stalks her rapist at all, let alone seeks vengeance.  Maybe some people are writing what they think should have happened rather than what did.  
As I saw it Elle acts indignant that someone has taken a liberty upon her, but she does not plot a vengeance and vengeance is not what this film is about. It refuses to be that simple.

In the wrong hands this could be considered dangerous or perverse material. Presented as it is, through the artistry of Director Verhoeven and Isabelle Huppert as Elle it is a fascinating and thought provoking drama which speaks the unspeakable, and even has the audacity to make you laugh whilst it does it.
(5)