Elle (film)

Elle

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Produced by Saïd Ben Saïd
Michel Merkt
Written by David Birke
Based on Oh... 
by Philippe Djian
Starring Isabelle Huppert
Music by Anne Dudley
Cinematography Stéphane Fontaine
Edited by Job ter Burg
Production
company
SBS Productions
Distributed by SBS Distribution
Release dates
  • September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) (France)
Country France
Language French

Elle (French: She or Her) is an upcoming French psychological thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by David Birke, based on the novel Oh... by Philippe Djian, and starring Isabelle Huppert. The film tells the story of a businesswoman, Michèle (Huppert), who is raped in her home by an unknown assailant and stalks him back. It is Verhoeven's first feature film in ten years after his 2006 film Black Book, and his first in French language.

Plot

Michèle seems indestructible. Head of a leading video game company, she brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to business. Being attacked in her home by an unknown assailant changes Michèle's life forever. When she resolutely tracks the man down, they are both drawn into a curious and thrilling game—a game that may, at any moment, spiral out of control.

Cast

Production

In May 2014, it was announced that Paul Verhoeven would direct an adaptation of Philippe Djian's 2012 novel, Oh....[1] The project was unveiled at the Marché du Film during the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it was described as "pure Verhoeven, extremely erotic and perverted."[2] Verhoeven was looking for an actress who would be "prepared to take that on" and believed Nicole Kidman "could handle this role." He also considered Marion Cotillard, Diane Lane, Sharon Stone and Carice van Houten for the role of Michèle, a businesswoman who is raped in her home by an unknown assailant and refuses to let it alter her precisely ordered life.[3] The film was originally supposed to take place in Boston but, according to Verhoeven, it proved to be "too difficult" to shoot the film in the United States due to its violent content.[4] Verhoeven then decided to do it in French and used a significant time before production to learn the language, in order to effectively communicate with the predominantly French cast and crew.[5] In September 2014, French actress Isabelle Huppert signed on to star in the film as Michèle.[6] Huppert had read the book before being offered the part. She is a longtime fan of Verhoeven’s work whom she described as "one of the best directors in the world for me".[7]

Principal photography began on January 10, 2015 for a ten-week shoot.[8] Filming took place in and around Paris. A planned sequence in Paris' main police station was cancelled following the Charlie Hebdo shooting on January 7.[9] The film was also shot in a house for Huppert's character in Saint-Germain-en-Laye for five weeks.[10] Verhoeven's mise-en-scène for the film was influenced by three films: Federico Fellini's 8½, Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. Every scene was choreographed and Verhoeven storyboarded the whole film himself.[5] He chose to shot the film with two Arri Alexa cameras as "These days the amount of time a director is given to make a move has diminished by 40 to 50 percent. Working with two cameras solves part of that problem while giving you the opportunity to do things that you wouldn’t do before."[5]

When the film wrapped, Verhoeven described the shoot as "difficult"[11] but later admitted that "in retrospect, it was very pleasant and easy."[12] On May 13, 2015, he told Variety he had "a strong feeling with this one that I was doing something that I’d never done before, which applied when I made RoboCop."[13] He also praised Huppert’s performance, saying that "She is an extremely gifted actress that gives you more than what’s on paper… even what’s in the book. She does experiments in her mind to get to places that she would probably avoid in reality. And she does that in an absolutely unique way."[13]

Release

The first poster for the film was released in May 2015 during the Cannes Film Festival where SBS Productions sold the film internationally.[13] On January 16, 2016, the first trailer was released.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (May 6, 2014). "Wild Bunch unveils full Cannes 2014 slate". Screen International. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  2. ↑ Lindsay, Taylor (May 6, 2014). "Coming to Cannes From Wild Bunch: 'Spring Breakers 2' and Gaspar Noe's Sex Celebration 'Love'". Indiewire. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Nicole Kidman in erotische thriller". De Telegraaf. May 17, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ Clarac, Toma (April 30, 2015). "PAUL VERHOEVEN, DE ROBOCOP À JÉSUS CHRIST". GQ. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Margaret, Barton-Fumo (January 12, 2016). "Interview: Paul Verhoeven". Film Comment. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (September 25, 2014). "Paul Verhoeven, William Monahan, 'Frank' Director Lenny Abrahamson And More Line Up New Projects". Indiewire. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  7. ↑ Walsh, Katie (December 9, 2014). "Interview: Isabelle Huppert Talks Her Favorite Films Of 2014, The State Of Cinema, Michael Haneke & More". Indiewire. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ Lermercier, Fabien (February 24, 2015). "Verhoeven in the middle of shooting Elle". Cineuropa. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  9. ↑ van Dorp, Michael (February 6, 2015). "Verhoeven schrapt scène vanwege Charlie Hebdo". Veronica Magazine. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Isabelle Huppert, un nouveau rôle "fémininement" incorrect". Mairie de Saint-Germain-en-Laye (calameo.com). March 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  11. ↑ Bénédict, Sébastien (April 24, 2015). "PAUL VERHOEVEN : LA CHAIR ET LE SANG (DU CHRIST)". Chronic'art. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  12. ↑ Kohn, Eric (November 25, 2014). "How Paul Verhoeven Survived 'Showgirls' and Turned His Back on Hollywood". Indiewire. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 Hopewell, John (May 13, 2015). "Cannes: Paul Verhoeven Sees ‘Elle’ as Nuanced Thriller (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  14. ↑ Davis, Edward (January 16, 2016). "CWatch: First International Trailer From Paul Verhoeven's Thriller 'Elle' Starring Isabelle Huppert". Indiewire. Retrieved January 16, 2016.

External links

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