Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Elena

Play trailer Poster for Elena 2011 1h 49m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 65 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Vladimir is reaching the end of his life and decides to leave his wealth to his only daughter, cutting out his wife and her son from his will.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Elena

Critics Reviews

View All (65)
J. Hoberman ARTINFO.com Andrey Zvyagintsev is the most internationally-acclaimed Russian filmmaker to emerge during the Putin era, and his expertly directed third feature Elena is, albeit oblique, the most vivid evocation I've seen of Moscow's contemporary society. Feb 25, 2019 Full Review Donald Clarke Irish Times It's very gloomy. It's very Russian. It's as powerful as any picture released this season. Rated: 4/5 Nov 2, 2012 Full Review Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard One of the very best Russian films of the past year. Oct 26, 2012 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row A riveting domestic thriller, an elegantly crafted glimpse into modern Russian life that speaks volumes while barely saying a word. Rated: 3/4 Aug 6, 2019 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com A class clash potboiler, it's a simple but deliciously hypnotic narrative about wealth and the queer way it tends to push people out of their comfort zones. Jul 24, 2019 Full Review Molly Templeton Eugene Weekly (OR) Luxurious cinematography, careful choices about focus and editing, and excellent, constrained performances, particularly from [Nadezhda] Markina, give Elena much greater depths than its plot suggests. Feb 27, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (119)
Eberhardt61 Tight, with nothing superfluous or unnecessary. Brilliant film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/14/23 Full Review Audience Member it was an art film. lots of silence. watched the interview with the director after. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Too slow and prolonged story. If this was made tighter, e.g. 60 minutes, should have been more fascinated. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliant depiction of Russian social stratification with the dramatic heart of the movie laying in the theme of an inexplicability of one's inner impulses and soul aspirations. Shot stunningly beautiful as usual by Zvyagintsev's longtime collaborator cameramen Krichman, the film is also a pure pleasure to watch. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review nefasto r "Elena" is a good film, from a great director. A clash between classes with more meaning than story. If my rating is not too high, it is because I do like stories, and some scene are too long for they own good. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A study of the contrasts in modern Russia with Nadezhda Markina's title character caught right in the middle. She's a late middle-aged former nurse recently married to a very rich older man who she previously took care of after a hospital stay. Both have adult children from previous marriages. Elena's son is married with two kids but jobless and living in a run down apartment building covered in graffiti. Elena's husband does not approve and seeks to stop her from giving money to her son. Clearly, he wields all the power in their relationship and he brusquely asks her to serve him. Director Zvyagintsev (The Return, Leviathan, Loveless) takes a long time setting up the characters and their lives and the juxtaposition between their wealthy upper class existence and the son's relative poverty (but also their earthiness against his ruthlessness). Eventually, the plot turns into a sort of morality play when Elena needs to come to terms with her husband's disdain for her family (and herself?). Perhaps she takes a leaf from her husband's estranged daughter's book (played superbly by Elena Lyadova, tough but human). Similarly to his other features, Zvyagintsev gives no hints as to where the plot might lead, which ultimately creates suspense. The denouement, though puzzling, can be read in multiple ways - it feels deeply ambivalent. The film also looks beautiful with a quality of natural light (often bright sunlight) that makes each image seem like an artwork all its own. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Elena

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
The Ultimate Life 20% 57% The Ultimate Life Watchlist The Beaver 63% 55% The Beaver Watchlist Wreckers 92% 54% Wreckers Watchlist Gun Hill Road 65% 67% Gun Hill Road Watchlist Around the Bay 100% % Around the Bay Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Vladimir is reaching the end of his life and decides to leave his wealth to his only daughter, cutting out his wife and her son from his will.
Director
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Producer
Alexander Rodnyansky
Screenwriter
Oleg Negin
Production Co
Non-Stop Productions
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 12, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$228.2K
Runtime
1h 49m
Most Popular at Home Now