Film
Elle (18)
Due to a problem with our projector, all screenings on March 28th, and the matinee screening of Prevenge on Wednesday March 29th are cancelled. If you have already booked tickets please call the box office on 01752 206114 to rearrange your booking.
We are awaiting a part for the projector and hope to have the problem solved for the evening screenings on Wednesday March 29. If you have made a booking or are planning to attend please check this page or call the box office in advance. We apologise for any disappointment
French icon Isabelle Huppert – who can switch from scathing to playful with a liminal quiver of her upper lip – gives a staggering performance as Michèle Leblanc, the director of a video game company who is raped in her own parlour by a masked assailant. Giving no immediate sign of distress she locks the door after her attacker and gets on with life. Michèle is a woman who mocks the idiocy of others and enjoys her own power, especially her capacity to disrupt. Persistently ambiguous and ironic, avoiding the easy psychology and obvious motivations of the rape revenge fantasy for something far more textured and sophisticated in its treatment of desire and control. It is full testament to the collaboration between Verhoeven and Huppert that they expertly navigate amorality and sustain a permanent state of suspense, mischief and challenge.
Dir. Paul Verhoeven, France, 2016, 130 mins, subtitled.
Cast. Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny.
We are awaiting a part for the projector and hope to have the problem solved for the evening screenings on Wednesday March 29. If you have made a booking or are planning to attend please check this page or call the box office in advance. We apologise for any disappointment
French icon Isabelle Huppert – who can switch from scathing to playful with a liminal quiver of her upper lip – gives a staggering performance as Michèle Leblanc, the director of a video game company who is raped in her own parlour by a masked assailant. Giving no immediate sign of distress she locks the door after her attacker and gets on with life. Michèle is a woman who mocks the idiocy of others and enjoys her own power, especially her capacity to disrupt. Persistently ambiguous and ironic, avoiding the easy psychology and obvious motivations of the rape revenge fantasy for something far more textured and sophisticated in its treatment of desire and control. It is full testament to the collaboration between Verhoeven and Huppert that they expertly navigate amorality and sustain a permanent state of suspense, mischief and challenge.
Dir. Paul Verhoeven, France, 2016, 130 mins, subtitled.
Cast. Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny.