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Elle

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2:07

Elle

R

Released Nov 11, 2016

2h 11m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

245 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

The successful CEO (Isabelle Huppert) of a video game company tries to learn the identity of the man who raped her.

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Critics Consensus

Elle finds director Paul Verhoeven operating at peak power -- and benefiting from a typically outstanding performance from Isabelle Huppert in the central role.

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Cate Young

Bitch Media

The rape scenes are neither gratuitous nor lingered upon.

Mar 8, 2021

Full Review

Namrata Joshi

The Hindu

...twisted, transgressive, disturbing, and strangely liberating and cathartic.

Jul 24, 2018

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Adam Nayman

Cinema Scope

On the level of craft, Elle is excellent.

Sep 28, 2017

Full Review

Adrienne McIlvaine

Vague Visages

Elle is a demented Rorschach test of the highest degree.

Feb 6, 2024

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

...a trifle underwhelming. It is, nonetheless, very nice to hear from Verhoeven again, and while it’d be wrong to say the film is a comedy — it’s fundamentally a very serious proposition — it’s often a very funny movie...

Jan 17, 2023

Full Review

Brian T. Carney

Washington Blade

Isabelle Huppert [gives] a mesmerizing performance in Paul Verhoeven’s provocative Elle.

Dec 21, 2022

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noa r

started well. though once all was revealed, it wasn't exactly what i was in the mood for and found it to be very weird. i was confused on what the message of the story was. was it a character study? just a erotic thriller? isabelle huppert is still able to steal the screen though. superb performance!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/10/24

Full Review

Alec B

Like all of Verhoeven's best films, "Elle" is transgressive and constantly defies expectations. It's a unique work, one that's very much a product of the current culture and a rebellion against it. Huppert's performance deserves to be studied for years to come.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/14/23

Full Review

Danielle T

Avec cette histoire d'une femme qui, après avoir été violée chez elle, recherche son agresseur plutôt que d'aller à la police, le nouveau film de Paul Verhoeven est tout sauf un banal récit de vengeance. Sobre en apparence, la mise en scène, à l'instar de la protagoniste, ne dévoile que graduellement son infinie complexité. Les retournements de situation abondent, ceux-ci ouvrant systématiquement sur davantage d'ambiguïtés dans la personnalité d'une héroïne fabuleusement atypique. D'un détachement inquiétant, Isabelle Huppert rend Michèle plus difficile à déchiffrer encore que ses autres personnages aux tendances sociopathes vus dans Violette Nozière et Merci pour le chocolat, de Claude Chabrol, et aussi dans La pianiste, de Michael Haneke. Il s'agit, à n'en pas douter, d'une rencontre au sommet.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/17/23

Full Review

Aldis H

If you accuse me of not getting this oeuvre at all, you would be correct. Do the French like this? It's 100% morally bereft, and it's all a big joke and who cares?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/12/23

Full Review

Lerolerolero L

The movie is boring and nothing makes sense, go watch it if you wanna waste ur time.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/17/23

Full Review

Georgan G

This movie is not for a general audience. It's a slick version of open relationships, and tastes in the bedroom that are for the BDSM crowd. The line between actual abuse and consensual role play is explored.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/30/23

Full Review

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Elle: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The successful CEO (Isabelle Huppert) of a video game company tries to learn the identity of the man who raped her.

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Producer: Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt
Screenwriter: David Birke, Philippe Djian
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion, Entre Chien et Loup, France 2 Cinéma, SBS Productions
Rating: R (Disturbing Sexual Content|Brief Graphic Nudity|Violence|Language|Sexual Assault|Some Grisly Images)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 11, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.3M
Runtime: 2h 11m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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