Elle

Summary

Businesswoman Michèle Leblanc is brutally raped in her own house by a masked intruder. When she starts getting obscene e-mails, she suspects the rapist is someone she knows. As the daughter of a mass murderer, she rejects the idea of going to the police – and begins her own pointed cat-and-mouse investigation, which leads her attacker into revealing himself. She begins an erotic game with the man, who has no idea that Michèle is following a risky plan...

Isabelle Huppert moves through this unsettling thriller with a solid aura of autonomy, like an avatar in one of the video games that her company develops. A fearless heroine, she deals with family crises and professional problems as the plot moves towards the final confrontation with her tormentor. She plays an ambivalent character with an uncertain moral compass – a victim who has what it takes to become a perpetrator. With her performance, Huppert helped director Paul Verhoeven, often criticised for his provocative depictions of sex and violence, to a multitude of awards. She herself was nominated for an Oscar.

Source: 72. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)