The film is riotously funny, and Isabelle Huppert has never been better.
Elle
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France, Germany, Belgium · 2016
Rated R · 2h 10m
Director Paul Verhoeven
Starring Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling
Genre Drama, Thriller
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
When Michèle, the CEO of a gaming software company, is attacked in her home by an unknown assailant, she refuses to let it alter her precisely ordered life. She manages crises involving family, all the while becoming engaged in a game of cat and mouse with her stalker.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Elle doesn't always maintain the clever balance of naughtiness and dramatic confrontations that make it such an appealingly unconventional romp.
The Film Stage by Giovanni Marchini Camia
Elle would be unimaginable without Huppert, who delivers a performance of such virtuosity that she turns what is essentially a raving sociopath into one of the most alluring protagonists in recent memory.
Knowingly incendiary but remarkably cool-headed, and built around yet another of Isabelle Huppert’s staggering psychological dissections, Paul Verhoeven’s long-awaited return to notional genre filmmaking pulls off a breathtaking bait-and-switch: Audiences arriving for a lurid slab of arthouse exploitation will be taken off-guard by the complex, compassionate, often corrosively funny examination of unconventional desires that awaits them.
The list of the film’s transgressions against the culturally acceptable is almost gratuitously long. But the spine of self-aware intelligence that runs through even its most grotesque, exploitative, and offensive twists, and the basically incredible, irreplaceable central performance from Isabelle Huppert, make this queasily hilarious mass of contradictions just about cohere.
There is much to like about Elle, first and foremost a witty and bold performance from Huppert and the generally seasoned ensemble.
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
It’s all quite perverse for sure, which of course is no surprise coming from either the actress or the director, though what’s welcome about Elle is the way they combine their talents to make a film that hardly skimps on the sex, violence and sadism, yet ultimately tells a story about how one woman uses them all to set herself free.
Screen International by Lisa Nesselson
This audacious, irony-laced, convention-jumbling tale is just plain fun to watch.
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
Elle forces you to critically confront every myth it indulges, every cliché it embraces and subverts.
The film is utterly gripping and endlessly disturbing.
Users who liked this film also liked
The Piano Teacher
(La Pianiste)
Perversion --- at its absolute best.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Austria, France, Germany • 2001
- Director Michael Haneke
- Cast Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel, Susanne Lothar, Udo Samel, Anna Sigalevitch
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Bow
(활)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea, Japan • 2005
- Director Kim Ki-duk
- Cast Han Yeo-reum, Seong-hwang Jeon, Seo Ji-seok, Jeon Kuk-hwan, Kim Ik-tae, Jang Dae-sung
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kanopy, Hoopla
Black Book
(Zwartboek)
To fight the enemy, she must become one of them.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom • 2006
- Director Paul Verhoeven
- Cast Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn, Waldemar Kobus, Matthias Schoenaerts
- Genre Drama, Thriller, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV
Ridicule
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1996
- Director Patrice Leconte
- Cast Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fanny Ardant, Judith Godrèche, Bernard Giraudeau, Bernard Dhéran
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Any Number Can Win
(Mélodie en sous-sol)
A career criminal enlists the help of a former cellmate for a large-scale robbery of a Cannes casino vault.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Italy • 1963
- Director Henri Verneuil
- Cast Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, Claude Cerval, Viviane Romance, Henri Virlogeux, Jean Carmet
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
Godard's Passion
(Passion)
Godard mixes up politics, love and the workers plight, with the struggles of filmmaking, in his cheeky brand of art.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland • 1982
- Director Jean-Luc Godard
- Cast Isabelle Huppert, Hanna Schygulla, Michel Piccoli, László Szabó, Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, Myriem Roussel
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Sister
(L'enfant d'en haut)
A young boy steals from rich patrons at a posh ski resort to support himself and his irresponsible older sister.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland • 2012
- Director Ursula Meier
- Cast Kacey Mottet Klein, Léa Seydoux, Martin Compston, Gillian Anderson, Jean-François Stévenin, Yann Trégouët
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Jack Strong
- Poland • 2014
- Director Władysław Pasikowski
- Cast Marcin Dorociński, Maja Ostaszewska, Patrick Wilson, Oleg Maslennikov, Dimitri Bilov, Dagmara Domińczyk
- Genre Drama, History, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Fandor Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Freevee, DistroTV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
The story of the young Billy Lynn, a valiant soldier, a dutiful son, but most of all - a human being.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, China, United States • 2016
- Director Ang Lee
- Cast Joe Alwyn, Kristen Stewart, Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Julieta
This is my life --- it is for you.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2016
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Emma Suárez, Adriana Ugarte, Daniel Grao, Inma Cuesta, Darío Grandinetti, Michelle Jenner
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Loving
All love is created equal.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2016
- Director Jeff Nichols
- Cast Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon, Bill Camp
- Genre Romance, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
A War
(Krigen)
During a routine mission, soldiers are caught in heavy Taliban crossfire. In order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that will ultimately see him returned to Denmark accused of a war crime.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, France • 2015
- Director Tobias Lindholm
- Cast Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny, Søren Malling, Charlotte Munck, Dar Salim
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Slack Bay
(Ma Loute)
Bumbling inspectors Machin and Malfoy investigate the mysterious disappearances of several tourists on the beautiful beaches of Slack Bay.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany, Belgium • 2016
- Director Bruno Dumont
- Cast Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche, Valeria Bruni‑Tedeschi, Jean-Luc Vincent, Brandon Lavieville, Raph
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Things to Come
(L'avenir)
Thinking through things is one thing; doing them is another...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany • 2016
- Director Mia Hansen-Løve
- Cast Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Edith Scob, Roman Kolinka, Sarah Le Picard, Solal Forte
- Genre Drama
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Student
(Ученик)
Veniamin, a teenager in the midst of a mystical crisis, has his mother, schoolmates and entire high school turned upside down by his questions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Russia • 2016
- Director Kirill Serebrennikov
- Cast Viktoriya Isakova, Petr Skvortsov, Yuliya Aug, Alexandra Revenko, Alexandr Gorchilin
- Genre Drama
- Available on OVID, Klassiki, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
In the Forests of Siberia
(Dans les forêts de Sibérie)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2016
- Director Safy Nebbou
- Cast Raphaël Personnaz, Evgeniy Sidikhin
- Genre Adventure, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Sami Blood
(Sameblod)
Elle Marja, 14, is a reindeer-breeding Sami girl dreaming of another life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Norway, Denmark, Sweden • 2016
- Director Amanda Kernell
- Cast Lene Cecilia Sparrok, Mia Sparrok, Maj-Doris Rimpi, Julius Fleischanderl, Olle Sarri
- Genre Drama
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla
Ignorance Is Bliss
(Beata ignoranza)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2017
- Director Massimiliano Bruno
- Cast Marco Giallini, Alessandro Gassmann, Valeria Bilello, Carolina Crescentini, Teresa Romagnoli, Michela Andreozzi
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Amazon Video
Nine and a Half Moons
(Nove lune e mezza)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2017
- Director Michela Andreozzi
- Cast Claudia Gerini, Michela Andreozzi, Giorgio Pasotti, Lillo Petrolo, Stefano Fresi, Alessandro Tiberi
- Genre Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.