"Elle" is a definitive Paul Verhoeven film. Like his pulpy American pictures, it's a thrilling taste of forbidden fruit, a peek at the seedy underbelly of seemingly sophisticated people. "Basic Instinct" explores the dark desires of a successful author. "Hollow Man" paints a portrait of a scientist corrupted by power. And now there's "Elle," which revolves around an icy businesswoman driven to unexpected extremes.
Isabelle Huppert stars as Michèle Leblanc, the head of a popular video game company based in Paris. When we meet her, she's in the middle of working on a game featuring a slimy monster that looks like it's straight out of Verhoeven's Martian action thriller, "Total Recall." Michèle is hung up on a scene in the game that shows the monster sexually assaulting a princess. It's not lurid enough, she says. When she comes to this criticism, she's still emotionally numb from being raped in her home shortly beforehand.
Later, we learn that Michèle is no stranger to violence. When she was a child, her father committed a monstrous crime. Due to the years of public humiliation and torment, she suspects the rape is a response to her family history — an attack inspired by the 40th anniversary of her father's killing spree. Because of her reputation, she resists calling the police, leading her down a dark, twisted rabbit hole to find her rapist and exact revenge upon him.
Psychosexual drama, a sordid past, a morbid mystery. On the surface, "Elle" seems like a typical Verhoeven film. But unlike his more mainstream efforts, he strips this seamy story down to its bare essence. Unlike the stylized sequences of sex and violence in "Basic Instinct," the rape scenes here are raw and unflinchingly realistic. They're also void of music, leaving us with only the unsettling sounds of mayhem interrupting mundane life.
Huppert's performance is equally understated. She portrays Michèle as a woman quietly imploding. We see that her past weighs heavily upon her, but she maintains a cold demeanor and seems to lack compassion for others, sleeping with her best friend's husband and openly admitting her disappointment in her son. Huppert keeps us on edge, wondering whether Michèle is hiding the same monster inside her as her father. It's a hypnotic, poignant performance — one of the major highlights of 2016's films.
"Elle" is ultimately about the vicious cycle of violence and how it's impossible to escape. We see how Michèle is both a victim and a perpetrator, tearing her own life apart while also being terrorized. People can feel shame and still do terrible things, she says at one point.
The film ultimately shows how Verhoeven has come full circle as well. Like his big Hollywood movies, it has all the sex and violence. But this one reveals the humanity beneath it all. It makes you understand his obsession with these elements. They represent our most basic, primal needs and desires, but they're also mysterious and haunting. And now, after 40 years of building upon these themes, Verhoeven is giving us his best film.