Elle

06 August 2021

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Distributors are served as a thriller by Paul Verhoeven, the author of "Basic Instinct"; and in our country, the trailer was mounted so that the gullible viewer decided that, yes, a thriller, and even can be erotic.
But no, "She" has in common with one of my favorite films of the nineties - only that they were both directed by Verhoeven with good actresses in the title role. And if Stone came out after that in great actresses, then for Hupper, a hundred years already as brilliant, this is a kind of frame that completes her portrait in the gallery of greats.

The Dutch provocateur for the next film chose material that today’s Hollywood is not able to swallow; this story about the rape of a successful businesswoman and the consequences of this event for a small circle of people close to her wrapped up after reading and Kidman, Moore, and the same Stone. Therefore, in search of a heroine who would pull such a scenario, Verhoeven went to Europe.

You didn't. Isabelle Huppert plays subtle, filigree, making believable the actions of the character, which could cast doubt on the performance of the actress more straightforward.

But what is it about this scenario that made the American Dream Factory look embarrassed? I think that "Elle" tries to distance itself as much as possible from most of the patterns of paintings on this subject.

This is not a rape and revenge story. Of course, there is a place for both the first and the second, but the emphasis is largely shifted. The fact of rape, of course, is undoubted; but here is the heroine's taste of such revenge. . .

Secondly, this is not a familiar story about how the world of the heroine, broken into pieces by a terrible event, gradually sticks together again. Michelle’s life has long resembled a pile of multicolored fragments, and here she again takes a scoop and a broom in her hands with the usual gesture.

Third, the emotional tone of the story is not what one would expect. And the main trope here I would call irony (no, the taste of the director does not change, and ironically not over the traumatic incident).

Fourth, the focus of the film is not only on the central event. It's deliberately out of focus. Pushing off such an unexpected springboard, the director managed to jump very high and fix on film, surprisingly clearly, the panorama of modern us mores, tastes and habits.

Fifthly... No, perhaps, it is worth stopping here and offering those interested to watch, perhaps, one of the best, if not the best film of Paul Verhoeven.

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04 March

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It would seem 2 hours... And it seems that something is happening, there is some development, even some own investigation, but this is not for long, soon we begin to observe only all sorts of interpersonal relationships, the interaction of the heroes among themselves, and here it is as if between the matter of reminder and what happened, although we still find out who he is (by the way, to track down is too loud a word). Rather, the criminal wanted to consolidate his success, to feel power over the situation, remaining unpunished. Actually, and the game, which is referred to in the description, I also did not see in the view, which is usually implied. The heroine is a victim, and even with a childhood trauma, but herself with a sin. We are told not only the details of her life, but also her character. Hard, unprincipled, straightforward. Of course, for work or in certain situations, such qualities are still important, but in your personal life with them you rather appear as a soulless, inhuman individual. How does it feel? Contradictory, because she does not demonstrate humanity, human respect and human compassion.
What is 140+ minutes of time? Scandals, intrigues, investigations. Like a criminal chronicle or a Malakhov program. Characters are denounced one by one. This is more drama than a thriller. And then there's crime. Ah, this treacherous timing, could have wedged the detective genre.

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30 January 2022

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Verhoeven kind of shot for us a hybrid of author's cinema and crime thriller. And in the end, it didn't work. A thriller needs intrigue, and it doesn't. For author's cinema, you need an annoying opinion of the author. He's not. But there are clichés of author’s cinema – all these unrecognized writers, endlessly writing a book, mistresses of friends of ex-husbands, etc. The characters are good. There is no division into protagonists and antagonists. Everyone is disgusting in some way. And this is rather a positive component. (We’re not going to play Hamlet for the negative characters.) But what exactly is the message of the film? All attempts by critics to guess it and to deduce some profound ideas are fruitless. No message. If the film is not entertaining, there is no film.
In addition, the atmosphere is very spoiled by numerous holes in the scenario. Spoilers next. The heroine, of course, asserts herself and her microcosm in the end. Along with the other characters. But if she grew up in the circumstances that befell her, how did the others grow up? They didn't go through anything. Growing up and growing up, the final demands. Infantil became a man, stealing a bottle of wine against the will of the waiter; the lover’s wife grew out of thin air. So be it. Plus a bunch of ridiculous details that ruin any impression when viewed. The heroine was hit in the face and she walks with a fingal for several days. Then she was hit several times harder in the face and... there are no marks. She must have adapted. In the room with the newborn rubbed a crowd of people in street clothes. Well, the sanitary system in this France, at the level of Somalia. The heroine says she gave birth for three hours. And at least in Wikipedia to look at the time of writing the script - why, what's wrong with hacking.
But I still believe in Verhoeven. He can film.

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