She (Elle, 2016) – Super Hupper, Seals and Other Antics by Paul Verhoeven
It is worth watching if:
You missed the Dutch provocateur and looked forward to his return with a new picture.
You want to look at Isabelle Huppert, a genius who has surpassed herself, if that's even possible. And thank God, all Hollywood actresses refused the role.
- you are ready for a psychological thriller with erotic notes and black humor about "something can't be called."
Last week, the erotic thriller “She” by Paul Verhoeven (“Basic Instinct”, “Shougels”, “Robocop”) was released in the Russian rental. And the day before yesterday, France put forward a risky film for the Oscars. In fact, the picture of the rape was funnier than it should be, but quite provocative, but from the Dutch director and do not expect another.
Verhoeven opens the film with a rape scene of Michelle by a mysterious stranger in a ski mask. The only witness is the hostess’ cat, as well as the viewer, who silently hatched at the shocking events. At the end of the monstrous act, the main character also silently sweeps up fragments of broken dishes on the floor, takes a bath with bubbles and orders food for the house. Michelle has no time for panic and proceedings with the police, she is waiting for responsible work, family problems, a rag son with a pregnant girlfriend and an elderly mother who decided to marry her gigolo.
However, the pervert does not cease to remind of himself, and Michelle decides to find the villain among his colleagues, friends and neighbors. Verkhoven would not have been Verkhoven if we were waiting for a trivial detective thriller in the style of 'rape & revenge' (“rape and revenge”), where the main surprise would be the person hiding behind a black mask, and the main goal – the reprisal of the rapist. The mask breaks almost in the middle of the film, but the surprises do not end there.
The psychopathological drama comes to the fore, and Isabelle Huppert with a charming playful spontaneity begins to ruthlessly break all the patterns and norms of behavior of a wealthy French lady first, and the victims of sexual harassment second. As always, childhood injuries are to blame, and Michelle is a child of a cruel world, to which she now contributes, not wanting to remain among the victims. Self-destruction becomes her basic instinct.
Verkhoven does not allow himself to be moralized, he only slyly smiles behind the scenes, while we witness his sarcastic and revealing picture of reality, from which it is not clear who and scratch out the eyes, whether the rapist, or himself. Amid harassment, sadomasochism, racism, feminism and other buzzwords, common sense is lost somewhere here. But we, like the cat Michelle, continue to sit, hatched on the daring antics of Verhoeven and Huppert, not knowing whether to cry or laugh, then silently stand up and return to their “normal” life.
I may have watched Verhoeven's work from my teenage bell tower, but the film seemed to me a more logical and socially adapted version of the thriller I Spit on Your Graves 2. Unlike American colleagues, Paul Verhoeven gave us a cocktail of professional actors, “life” plot and subtle psychologicalism.
Conventionally, the film can be divided into three parts. First, the main character Michelle - no longer a young, wealthy lady with a dark past - is raped by a stranger in a mask. In this dark past, Michelle intends to find the attacker and get even with him personally, especially since there are enough suspects in her circle of friends. The rapist, meanwhile, does not sleep and periodically reminds of himself by text, then by some unpleasant sign for Michelle. This in general does not prevent her from leading her previous lifestyle, especially since the heroine is used to increased attention to her person. She has enough problems in addition to the incident: a young mother is going to marry another lover, the son is running with a pregnant girl, the ex-husband found a girlfriend, and the father is serving a life sentence for mass murder. The list goes on and on. It is clear that Michelle’s life is not boring, but rely on someone.
The most interesting thing, in my opinion, begins exactly after Michelle finds out the identity of the rapist. What begins is theoretically quite possible, but it looks very ... extraordinary. And if before the opening of Michelle in the frame is dominated by tension, then after he is replaced by curiosity, how this epic will end.
And it ends as expected. Personally, I had time to read some very detailed review from the film festival, a little confused all the cards and as a result, from the very beginning I guessed who our well-wisher was. But it's me, I often watch detectives. For the average viewer, intrigue will remain intrigue.
In general, if you look for something to complain about, you find absolutely nothing. Isabelle Huppert, like her Michelle, are both actresses, women of mystery. Perhaps the only thing that can be classified as “minus” is an understatement with the motive of the rapist. Why? It was necessary. That's it. This is the result of an hour and a half search for truth.
Quite an interesting film, although it looks without emotion, on pure adrenaline. Perhaps due to the fact that the heroine herself perceives everything that happens to her without tears, tantrums and screams - except that her barbs sometimes cause a smile.
The name of Said Ben Said in the line “producer” did not deceive: the atmosphere of “She” came out very similar to “Passion” by Brian de Palma.
9 out of 10
Paul Verhoeven never makes a passing picture, for what subject he would not take. The brilliant Dutch director achieved recognition in his homeland, but the greatest fame was brought to him by his work at the Dream Factory, whose celestials could not but pay attention to the talented European who shoots strong, dramatic thrillers that attract a wide audience without the support of large studios. Moving to Hollywood, Verhoeven shoots a number of powerful productions, among which were the cult 'Robocop' and 'Remember all' as well as a sexual hurricane called 'Basic Instinct'. In each of the films presented, the director showed himself as a sophisticated storyteller, able to revive walking metal, giving it a soul, and along the way demonstrating a woman as an ideal killing machine, feeding a passion for intimate sophistication in everything. Having enjoyed working with Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, Verhoeven again plunged into the world of sexual fantasies in the risky 'Show Girls' that turned out to be the first major failure for the director, which became the beginning of the end of his bright Hollywood career. Misunderstood by the masses, the ironic Nazi manifesto ' Starborne Troops' did not meet the expectations of the producers, in an expensive reworking of the classic story about the Invisible Man with the participation of Kevin Bacon became Verhoeven’s swan song on star-striped earth, after which he had to leave the blockbuster world in favor of European cinema, where talent is truly valued, and not the ability to make a bank from any undertaking. After waiting for a very long pause, Paul Verhoeven makes critics applaud him ' Black Book', intrigues ' Fool' and finally gives us a cold, calculating and at the same time burning dramatic thriller ' She' with the unsurpassed Isabelle Hupper in the title role. The game without embellishment, complex conclusions and frankly shocking decisions make their film a sharp delicacy with a long, annoying aftertaste. And the most interesting thing is that you want to stretch it longer.
The plot of the film introduces us to Michelle (Huppert), a charming middle-aged Parisian living alone in her chic apartment. The adult son of the heroine lives his own, windy life, the ex-husband periodically bored with unwanted attention. Michelle is not constrained in money, as she is the owner of a successful computer company and can do whatever she wants. However, happiness in the eyes of a woman is not observed, since in her mind there is too much pain and experiences that are not so easy to throw away. Small joys, like an optional affair with the husband of a close friend, stir up the fire of mischief in Michelle, but all these little things are unable to give her what she so desires, or perhaps wished for a long time – quiet family happiness. Measured, somewhat monotonous life of the heroine at one moment is torn by a storm that can destroy any woman, but not the willful Michelle. A mysterious stranger who broke into the heroine’s apartment violently rapes her, and then goes away, hiding behind a turn. An ordinary man would have called the police immediately, but not Michelle. Instead of waiting for mercy from someone from the outside, she takes her own fate into her hands, announcing a hunt for a criminal, which gradually takes possession of her mind.
The master to twist the intrigue to a state of extreme tension, to bring the investigation to a nervous tingling of the fingertips Paul Verhoeven and this time did not fail, demonstrating in fact a complex, extraordinary film that penetrates extremely deeply into the psychological labyrinths of the image of his heroine, where the light gradually dissolves in darkness, but does not hurry to disappear completely. Verhoeven’s film is not without reason called ' It' because absolutely all the attention of the story is focused on the enticing and dangerous image created by the director in the company as always inimitable Isabel Huppert. The actress is not used to playing heroines, both attractive and frightening, making her admire and hate her decisions. In the film by Paul Verhoeven, Hupper sums up a peculiar result of numerous works in a big movie, playing the role of Michelle on the verge of emotional rampage, ready to manifest at any moment behind the deliberately cold, restrained appearance of a status elderly woman.
To better understand why Michelle came to the age line as she appeared before us in the film, the director does not tire of engaging us in her everyday life, paying much attention to relationships with loved ones. Unfortunately, women, even over the years, can not let their men go free, feeling responsible for them. This applies to the son of Michelle, unable to build strong family ties, succumbing to fleeting hobbies, and the former husband of the heroine, annoying her with and without. Add to this the constant hassle with the business, which can not always do without the decisions of the owner and duplicitous relationship with a friend, unaware of the betrayal of Michelle, and get a cocktail, which will make anyone go round. It would seem that interesting in the demonstration of the ordinary life of the average rich Parisian, but Paul Verhoeven gradually reduces the disparate story into a single picture and puts on the spearhead of the plot rape, which became the catalyst for the active actions of Michelle. Thoughts of a stranger abusing her body fill a woman's days and nights. She understands that she is able to catch him, sending him to the next world in terrible agony, but somewhere along the way she loses touch with reality, catching herself thinking that the criminal is vital to her, because without him everything loses meaning.
Building the narrative in an unexpectedly action-packed vein, Paul Verhoeven and Isabelle Hupper, no less responsible for the success of the film, understand that it will not be easy for the viewer to get used to the hidden features of Hupper’s character, but it is due to the lack of frameworks inherent in diligent Hollywood cinema that the creators were able to tell the story in the vein that they wanted to reveal in full. An ordinary household routine turns into a constantly heating brazier, waiting for the victim to fall into it. There is not a single person who feels safe here, because the plot at any moment can make an unexpected roll and splash poison in the face, nurtured by dissatisfaction, caustic irony and murderous cynicism.
In conclusion, I want to say that 'She' Paula Verhoeven and Isabelle Huppert show the true gloss of a brilliant thriller, shot on a quite ordinary basis, not predicting anything unusual. In appearance, a calm, neat film actually carries a powerful emotional message that can frighten. Verhoeven once again proved his skill, brilliantly operating dramaturgy, penetrating into the very heart and not letting go long after the end of viewing. ' She' becomes one of the best thrillers in the career of the director in recent years and it is likely that this film will not leave indifferent any viewer who decided to get acquainted with him closer.
8 out of 10
The great Dutchman is back! The man who brought the once erotic thriller to an unattainable level (and this is not his only merit), in the new film reassembles the stagnant genre, adding tons of black humor to it.
Fate favors patient spectators. If anyone was supposed to make a rape comedy, it was Paul Verhoeven. Trier has an overblown ego for this.
The triumph of sanity, misanthropy, convincing anti-religionism, the rigidity of plot moves, the aphoristicity of dialogues, Isabelle Huppert (63 years old, just to think!) and a bunch of worthless men – mix and shake a lot. At the exit you get a masterpiece that will certainly take a place in the collection of your favorite films.
10 out of 10
This is the movie I got sick of after watching Channel 1 for 30 seconds. I even remember the smell of morning coffee, which rushed me away from TV and back into the kitchen. And I got sick for a reason. Imagine a thriller that periodically causes an explosion of laughter in the cinema. Interesting, isn't it? Imagine the unsurpassed main character. I’m sorry, I haven’t seen a single movie with this actress, but I will definitely correct this flaw. The heroine is simply inimitable. I'm not afraid of that word, but she's my idol. I would like to see her calm.
Speaking of the cat, the first seconds of the film he played by 5 points!
In general, 'She' is a film that I certainly enjoyed. In spite of all the tags, or perhaps because of them.
Not to be confused with the 2013 film Her. I talked about him, too. You can confuse and look at both. And it is categorically not recommended for viewing too correct people, children under 18 (well, this is by itself) and those who are more confused than intriguing by the above prohibition.
Sometimes the actions of our parents can significantly affect our lives in the future. Because of them, inner demons may appear in a person, which will periodically make themselves felt, affecting both the life of a person and the fate of people close to him. This idea is at the heart of Paul Verhoeven's psychological thriller "She."
Synopsis Wealthy Parisian Michelle lives alone in her home, she has a large video game development business, her son has his own life, and her husband Michelle is divorced. But one night her life changes dramatically after a man in a black mask attacks her right at home and brutally rapes her. However, Michelle does not report the incident to the police, since she intends to independently find and deal with the criminal as she sees fit.
In general, the film makes a pleasant impression on its cast. However, I would certainly highlight the talented and bright performance of Isabelle Huppert, who played the role of Michelle. From the very beginning of the film, it becomes clear to the viewer that Michelle is a very unusual character, and Hupper managed to convey this with success. The actress embodied the image of a cynical, cold and mysterious Michelle, who dreams of living a normal life, but personal problems, coupled with rape, bring her to extremes, which she herself did not suspect.
After a rather impressive break, I think for many Basic Instinct fans, the return to the old business of director Paul Verhoeven was a pleasant surprise. However, given the fact that his latest paintings did not receive such warm support, all the same, before viewing, wariness disappeared in the soul. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that “She” directed by Verhoeven turned out to be a very good thriller. The film, above all, draws attention to the lack of cliche. In the foreground, the director puts the main character Michelle, who has not everything simple in life. Here everything is complicated by a mysterious sex maniac, leaving her terrible messages. Nevertheless, the director makes it clear that the heroine is not going to try on the image of an innocent frightened victim, but is ready to become a dangerous and unpredictable predator herself.
The script The film focuses entirely on the main character. The film begins with the scene in which the maniac after the rape of Michelle leaves her. Michelle, after recovering, instead of reporting to the police, first cleans up the mess in the room and continues to do her usual business, as if nothing had happened to her. The viewer understands that something is wrong with this heroine. Throughout the plot, we understand why the heroine is so cynical and dangerous in her own way. In the end, rape really fades into the background, because she first needs to deal with personal problems, including frivolous in the relationship of her son, annoying ex-husband, an affair with her best friend’s husband, depraved behavior of an elderly mother and, finally, hatred for her father, who is also a famous serial killer in France. Rape and disclosure of the identity of a sexual maniac spurs Michelle to a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Frankly speaking, the personality of the maniac did not come as a surprise. It was interesting to watch the strange and creepy relationship between Michelle and her rapist, whom she hates on the one hand, but who she longs for.
Result "She" is one of the best thrillers of the year. There are no taboo topics in it, but you can not call it banal either. The film examines the secret human desires, the basic instincts that motivate a person to dangerous and unpredictable actions. Unfortunately, the film is a bit long. However, this does not spoil the overall impression.
Paul Verhoeven as one of the main figures of cinema of the XX century always knew how to observe a fine line in his films, which were warmly loved by the ordinary viewer, and also became the subject of attention for the aesthetic group. Even in 'Robocop', it is impossible not to notice the numerous allusions of the protagonist to Jesus Christ. Sadly, ' She' is unlikely to be the object of worship by a wide audience. It is banal due to the fact that the theme of the film is quite specific and can alienate a large circle of people. But to say that it spoils the film in no way.
Michelle, a wealthy Parisian, the owner of a large video game development company, with her husband divorced, his son has his own adult life. And Michelle is having an easy affair with her friend's husband. One day a man in black breaks into her house, brutally beats her and rapes her. When he disappears, Michelle doesn't report it to the police. The horror story awakens in her childhood psychological traumas and hidden instincts associated with her father, a serial killer. From that moment on, she begins to see a rapist in every man around her. She wants to find him, but not to turn him over to the police.
Despite such a chilling description, from 'Elle' do not expect a thriller or a detective. Before us is a multifaceted and psychologically complex film in which the topic of rape is only the background, but not the subject of attention. In fact, the cinema is more of an annoying tragicomedy about the bourgeoisie of the twenty-first century. Plus, the film does not focus on the heroine of Isabelle Huppert, because there is a decent number of other characters, conflicts, which are sometimes overshadowed by Michelle herself. However, this does not lead to indiscriminate porridge. On the contrary, Verhoeven so competently arranges all the characters on the shelves that the viewer takes a certain essence out of each situation, or he accepts some characters, rejects others. Thus, the director makes a very cunning attempt to attract as many viewers of different ages as possible. As they say: 'Every pea will find a lid'.
With all this, 'She' strange as it sounds, a damn funny movie. And funny not in terms of situational humor, or numerous gags. It is rather ridiculous the absurdity of what is happening. It seems that the film is trying to catch up with drama and seriousness, but in the end all this is covered with completely ridiculous scenes where the main character forces an employee of his company to take off her pants, and then continue unfazed dialogue. And there's a certain charm to that, too. Verhoeven presents all such difficult situations in such a way that gives the film both fascinating and partial causticity.
It is impossible not to mention the magnificent acting of Isabel Huppert, which looks great in this image. It is difficult to imagine another candidate for this role. And it is not surprising that a large number of Hollywood actresses refused this heroine, because this image is damn complicated, but Hupper looks perfect in it. And with great hope I want to believe that she will not be deprived of attention at the award season.
But still, despite Verhoeven’s attempts to make the film universal, 'She' is definitely not for everyone. Psychological versatility can appreciate not every viewer. And watch in single moments 'Elle' darn hard. This work is not replete with plot twists and unexpected twists. But he doesn't need that. The viewer himself draws conclusions and analyzes what is happening. And this is the beauty of the film 'She'. This creation is literally about everything. Satire on European society, the study of female psychology, the parable of feminism, the need for violence. All of this and more includes Verhoeven’s masterpiece. Absolute 'must see' this year.
The image is missing, as if someone closed their eyes in fear. The darkness is filled with the noise of struggle, the ringing of broken dishes and the exhausting female cry, turning into wild groans, which, merging with the muffled male groans, clearly convey the rhythm of hard intercourse and become its musical accompaniment. There was a rape. The darkness disappeared and the only witness appeared on the screen – a green-eyed cat. A man in a black ski mask tears from a woman (Michel) spread out on the floor and walked away. So began "She."
Michelle's further actions make the viewer surprised. It would seem that after the experience, she should withdraw, contact the police or harboring anger, find the villain and take revenge on him in the best traditions of the thriller. However, the main character continues to live as if nothing had happened, as if rape is an ordinary occupation akin to tea drinking. She does not attach much importance to such a small thing, because life is already full of worries. Paul Verhoeven shifts the focus of the narrative to Michelle’s everyday life, which includes work, relationships with her son, ex-husband, lover, parents and more. Thus, a number of plot threads are created, which are woven into a single weaving web. A delicate topic hangs in the air, sometimes making itself felt like a spider crawling out in search of prey. From each frame blows cold and detachment, which creates an oppressive and psychologically uncomfortable atmosphere in which unattractive characters are cooked. There is really no hero in the picture who would like or arouse sympathy, even the injured Michelle, perfectly embodied Isabel Huppert, does not cause special emotions. She can be called the Snow Queen or a cold-blooded, indifferent bitch, which is undoubtedly repulsive, although her masculinity and fortitude deserve respect.
Surprisingly, in the film about a strong woman who was raped, Verhoeven managed to ironize and ridicule the rotten modern society, doing it with a feminist bias, and even if it turned out not funny, but relevant. Adult men leave their wives for young girls and quickly become disappointed in them, women sleep with the husbands of friends, some men prefer to meet old women for money, young guys often turn out to be spineless infantils, and in the neighborhood wolves live quietly in sheep’s clothing. And the background to this is general insincerity and pofigism. Special attention is paid to the imaginary friendliness, expressed in kissing each other. In the film, this happens so often, and even with such a lush sound that as a result, greeting and farewell smocks begin to be associated with a chuckling swamp, that is, this action has become ritual-reflex, carrying only external hospitality, under the mask of which there is a void. In addition, “She” shows that morality in the modern world has devalued, and morality has assumed dubious shapes.
In general, Paul Verhoeven’s new picture turned out to be very ambiguous. It is difficult to clearly define genre boundaries, since "She" absorbed a thriller, drama, satire on society, personal history, light eroticism and partly detective. This is an author’s, elite film, which will not appeal to everyone. Primarily because it contains a dubious message associated with condoning violence and turning a blind eye to it. Plus, a calm attitude to treason and betrayal is broadcast from the screen, that is, a woman can sleep with her friend’s husband for six months, then tell about it and their friendship will not fade, but even go to a new level (an allusion to lesbian relationships). In addition, Michelle’s motives are unclear. Either she is subconsciously attracted to dangerous men like her father, which resembles the suicide burning of a moth in the fire, or because of the lack of real strong men who could cope with her, she wants to be restrained and weak, or maybe it’s all masochism, or in a kind of sympathy for the rapist. In general, the film is interesting, but for an amateur.
Of course, this is a huge disappointment. I took a ticket to this movie literally in a month, spent a lot of effort to guess with the layout of my day, frantically exhausted, because the show was quite late, came home after midnight, and well, happy and winged, so no! It's all wasted.
I was interested in this film for two reasons: firstly, I like, let’s say, non-standard cinema (not with a claim to non-standard, as in this case, namely non-standard), and secondly, of course, because of Hupper. If there were no problems with the second paragraph, because Mrs. Huppert always looks great and it is difficult to take her eyes off, then there was clearly some kind of failure with paragraph number one.
Everything began well: a scene of violent rape, the fight of the victim and the perpetrator, the ringing of porcelain cups and saucers, then depressed Michelle, washing away the traces of violence in the bath and diligently dispelling a foam cloud of characteristic red color, formed somewhere in the area below the waist. The feeling of the constant presence of the criminal in the life of the heroine, surveillance, these monstrous messages on the phone - all this whipped up the atmosphere. The line with the development of several perverse computer games and suspicions about colleague Michelle Kurt was also very useful. Then gradually it all began to turn into some kind of farce. A little humor at first diluted all this action and did not seem to be something out of place, but after a while this same humor in fact became the main action in principle. At a certain point, I caught myself thinking that the appearance of the “rapist” & #39 was no longer a frightening event, but rather a comical sketch. Judging by the laughter in the room, I'm not the only one who caught myself thinking this way. Such a disordered, chaotic, inconsistent, meaningless content that carries absolutely no integral thought. This negro, these stupid comic relatives of the main character with their everyday problems are generously laced with some thriller unnatural attempts, and it seems that the director, already desperate to come up with something exciting, decides to add another appearance of this poor rapist.
The very position of the heroine is also absolutely vague and incomprehensible. It seems to the viewer want to convey that there are some demons, some dark passion, desire for masochism and so on, and then suddenly cover all this with some stupid statements that she will write a statement on her grievous lover to the police, and that everything that happens between them is not good in fact.
End in the form of stupid ' Why?' I just finished.
I would also like to note that Verhoeven, in my opinion, a little plagiarized some moments of the famous works of famous masters of non-standard cinema on the same eternal theme of inner demons. First, it is 'Nymphomaniac' Trier. When the circle of sexual partners of the main character begins to include more and more actors, and both sexes, involuntarily there are associations with Charlotte Gainsbourg. Second, this is 'Night Porter' Liliana Cavani. The scene where Michelle injures his leg in an accident, and our rapist carefully bandages it - it's a good allusion to Bogarde, disinfecting the wound (although on the arm) Rampling. What can I say - Hupper before the accident in his car listens to an excerpt from 'Magic flute' Mozart is even our music Paul ' lent' from Mrs. Cavani.
Bottom line: a very weak film. It is practically devoid of any message, a whole idea, orderliness, and in general integrity in principle. Jokes, jockeys, tile-tiles, trawls, mask-shows and jockeys again. The climax is an awkward smile at the end of the film.
4 out of 10
Sometimes they come back. Someone returns every year with the same jokes, stories, situations, each time revealing an increasingly pathetic likeness of himself from the past. Someone appears once every 5-10 years, so much so that in essence this very once is enough. Let's talk about her. Or him. Or maybe both of them, we'll figure it out during the play.
To understand, on the one hand, is quite simple: scenes and episodes are served in the style ' no gram of extra', you can not let the viewer get lost in the intricacies of events and plot. On the other hand, nothing but the plot is not on the surface, and the whole film appears as a kind of inverter: in any scene you see only one side, you want to look deeper - please turn over to the other, but just don't forget to return then back!
Genres do not lag behind and mix even within the same scene, Verhoeven with the dexterity of the illusionist constantly replaces them and does not allow you to concentrate on any one. Hence the comedy in the thriller, laughter in the drama, tension in the comedy and other other tricks of the magician, which you need to watch very carefully.
To the point. Roughly the same technique is used to show how conventional and fragile are those patterns and frameworks of behavior that are generally accepted & #39; in modern society, how different are the real needs and desires of the individuals around us, and how often it is necessary to give them free rein. Shame is not always enough to resist these desires. And if, after watching Elle, you find the strength to admit this to yourself, then this can already be considered a huge step towards understanding the human essence, to understanding the nature of human relations and feelings.
The accuracy with which Verhoeven points to this or that facet of physiology or psyche is striking: damn it, he just knows everything about us! That’s just do not need to say that you did not see yourself in any of the stories that are rich ' She' – still no one will believe you, not even you.
For a perfect result and a shot in the top ten was not enough: a more coherent global story, which paired with the main character would put together this puzzle, as well as Hollywood gloss, budget and charm. However, it cannot be said that this significantly spoils the impression of the picture - rest assured, your disturbed cockroaches simply can not, will not have time to focus on this.
9 out of 10
Isabelle Huppert's name on the poster made everything postponed. Here's an actress with a standard, perfect face that you can make up for anything -- a courtesan, a nun, a vamp woman, etc. And she'll play, thanks to her inner limitless abilities and intelligence. And here's the movie "She" and its script.
I think that our ladies who write disposable novels are much higher in literature. There should be some logic in the text, and there should be no vulgarity, stupidity and hopeless falsehood. Of course, a bit of falsehood adds dubbing. It is impossible to squeeze other people’s realities into the framework of our language, everything looks far-fetched, ends with alien intonations and primitiveness. It is better to read behind the scenes, without interfering with listening to the text. But I'm talking about the movie.
Here are the main lines. The heroine, a medium strength and career woman, is abused. But she does not officially report it, takes care of the rapist, as if anticipating something. At the same time, she is having fun with her friend’s elderly husband. And her son converges with a reckless, fire girl. The ex-husband of the heroine also finds a cheerful, optimistic friend - of course, 20 years younger. And all these people communicate with each other, as if they have no feelings at all, only a secular empty layer remains.
Ozone has such cold movies, but there is real ice there. Everything's down there, whatever. And here are claims to spirituality and deep feelings, which are not combined with the image of the heroine. Well, for example, I'm quite convinced by Nymphomaniac, who by nature is. It makes sense. Or a pianist who has a strong phase shift with the same genius Hupper. Here the motives of the heroine’s behavior are incomprehensible, unfounded. At the end, there is a lesbian turn. Only Almodovar with his tolerance for inventive and love-hungry heroes was lacking!
In this film, I did not understand, did not accept it. I wonder what the experts will say. I think it's a failure, a failure, mostly because of the script. The genre of the film is a melodrama mixed with semi-rigid “porn”. It's not really porn, though. But filmed very well, the scene of violence is even repeated several times, for the pleasure of the audience.
Paul Verhoeven, back again! The author of such hits as 'Robocop', 'Remember everything' and, much more importantly, for all moviegoers, the epochal 'Basic Instinct' shot this erotic thriller, with elements of sarcasm and black humor in France. And all because none of the American actresses dared to act ' in a defiantly immoral film ' And my beloved and incomparable Isabelle Huppert - after ' Pianists & #39 - no stranger to turning into a woman, closed and restrained, but with such demons inside! That's where the fun starts. . .
Women. Feminine nature. Female character. Female psyche. What drives our hero after all this? OOO, this is not so easy to solve from the very beginning, Verhoeven presents everything to us very dosed and according to plan, step by step, day by day. Not forgetting to reveal Michelle herself. We see how awkward she is, how squeamish she communicates, and how arrogant at work, cameraman Stefan Fontaine, very catchy shows her close-up reactions and this leads to a logical introspection of the heroine. Is there an excuse for all of her actions?
It would seem, how many such paintings? Bryan De Palma’s most recent work, Passion & #39 (2012), features similar situations and moments. Or '. Side effect & #39; Soderbergh, where the main character bends his line. All this is only a plus, helps to compare and enjoy the excellent acting & #39; in cat and mouse & #39; and be perplexed until the very end. Hupper here is great 'bitch' and that's it.
I recommend it to true connoisseurs of author's films.
An unknown person breaks into the house of an elderly wealthy woman Michelle LeBlanc and sexually assaults her in an especially harsh form. Having finished his ungrateful occupation, the mysterious oppressor disappears into the darkness of the night, leaving Michelle alone with herself and new unpleasant circumstances, because violence, ironically, accompanied her too often in life. Having come to himself rather fleetingly, the woman begins to think out a plan for revenge against the rapist, who, however, must first be identified in the near and far surroundings, and the suspects turn out to be even more than she originally thought. However, is it really all men are rapists, or is everything wrong with Michelle for a long time?
The works of the popular French writer Philippe Gian from the late 80s were addressed by the directors Yves Boisse, Jean-Jacques Benex, the brothers Larier and Andre Teshiné, but only Benex in his cult film “37.2 in the mornings” in 1986 was able to more than reliably convey that multi-factorial and sophisticated perversion of Jihan’s prose, picking up more than adequate – on the thin verge of what is allowed, however – her conversion to the cinematic genre, preferably losing to the author’s in his personal style. And only the film adaptation of the novel “O...”, the film “She” in 2016 broke the walls of total non-perception and discrepancy of Jian’s prose, at the same time returning the lost reputation to the once main supplier of cruel sexual games Paul Verhoeven.
It should be noted that “She” with playful spontaneity shuffles all genre maps, because, strictly speaking, Verhoeven’s film is a truly wild mixture of psychopathological drama, erotic thriller and black satirical comedy, implicitly supplemented with elements of the notorious exploitative cinema “rape revenge & revenge”. However, such contrasting souls of too different genres do not prevent the film from being truly balanced, shot extremely muted and on semitones, without leaving the undoubted detective intrigue of the film on the mezzanine mezzanines and gradually leading the audience to a rather sarcastic, pseudo-shocking finale, exhausting the entire monolith of the film text strictly according to hardcore.
Verkhoven in this picture resorts to the artistic method of creating the fatal falsity of what is happening on the screen, repeatedly tested in The Fourth Man and Basic Instinct, the more along the way thinking not only about the inexorable disintegration of a particular person, but also coming to a more universal statement about the attractive nature of cruelty, about the awakening of hidden somewhere in the depths of the soul, consciousness, their essential embodiment of dangerous and secret passions, leading not so much to the freedom of aka libertine, but also to a series of depressionism, which is not unsured at the same time in the direction of truthfulness of society, which is perceived as a bourgeoisism, but also in addition to the truthfulness, which it is perceived by the truthfulness of society.
On a subconscious level, Michelle wanted to meet with the rapist, in order to finally expose herself, but the irony of the tape is that Michelle stubbornly does not notice the difference between self-exposure and self-destruction, and the usual desired - subjective sublimation - is taken for real, and the desire to balance the violated status quo looks nothing more than bliss, moral relativism in the terminal stage of its involution. And it is unlikely that an invitation to the main role of Isabelle Huppert looks completely accidental, who, in the image of Michelle, only once again tries on the depraved dress of an inconspicuous but asocial contemporary, concrete his own roles from the paintings of Haneke, Honore, Bray or Joaquim Trier, while the directorial film text refers to the benefit of the Benex-Anglad-Dahl trio.
In fact, the director Verhoeven habitually changes the accentuation of the perception of the central character - as a result, Catherine Trammel and Michelle LeBlanc are almost intentionally compared. However, a great ambiguity lies behind the guise of a bisexual writer, a hunter and victim, who played not according to the rules of the male world, men knew how to cheat sophisticatedly and openly aggressively - however, it was a social model of behavior of the nineties; Michelle, whose gender role in society as an alpha female and a lady boss is too often questioned and ridiculed, almost immediately after the moment of rape and further does not attract the role of an innocent victim. And on the surface, all the same double or triple author’s games with reality that are observed in the Dutch director since the time of the screen embodiment of Gerard Reve’s prose, in which it was in vain to separate the alcoholic and drug-addicted delusions of the hero from reality; in “Basic Instinct”, the book-reality was intertwined in an ominous dichotomy, and in the new picture Verhoven, the reality of computer games only complements, but does not replace that horror of the outside world – Verhoven became a realist to some extent.
The deliberate coldness, dispassionate coolness of Michelle, coupled with the loneliness raised to the absolute of her own existence, literally emphasizes the inability of the heroine Hupper to normal social fitness, the role of the daughter, mother and wife not that it does not seduce her at all, but it is also too important to call her in the matter of personal identification and self-realization of this woman, who initially renounced ordinary gender attitudes, her in a purely masculine community and without becoming - careerism and thirst for evil pleasures turned into essentially nothing essential, at the same time as a paradox, as a terrorist does not reveal her sexuality in the end, but she does not have a very pleasant experience with a terrorist, but she does not have a very normal one, although she can be.
The emptiness of the interior decoration of her house, the lacquered lifelessness of the situation rhymes with the heavy experience of the past; everything according to Freud, baby, except that Verkhoven allows himself and the viewer not to be horrified by such (anti)heroine, but to ironize not without a sardonic grin over her. After all, we are all maniacs to some extent, so maybe we should stop being hypocritical! The game begins to dominate the space of the film, but this game is in the authenticity, from which all the characters of the film so carefully avoided themselves. Starting the process of recognising their own past and rethinking the present, Michelle, in cooperation with her rapist, inevitably pulls skeletons out of the closets of everyone, nothing and no one will remain untouched under the gun of the director.