Michèle Leblanc (Isabelle Huppert), who runs a video-game company, is raped by a masked man in her home; she tries to put it behind her, but soon hears from the rapist again… Paul Verhoeven’s first film in a decade (and best in many years) has his expected quotient of sex and blood, but the story offers so much more. Decidedly unpredictable, this is a portrait of a woman with a horrifying past, which has affected her in ways that we learn slowly. What starts out as a tale of a woman who falls for her rapist ends up offering many more layers. Well made, intriguing and absurdly funny at times, the main attraction is Huppert who deftly embodies a wide range of emotions.
2016-France-Germany-Belgium. 130 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt. Directed by Paul Verhoeven. Screenplay: David Birke. Novel: Philippe Dijan (”Oh…”). Music: Anne Dudley. Cast: Isabelle Huppert (Michèle Leblanc), Christian Berkel (Robert), Anne Consigny (Anna), Viginie Efira, Laurent Lafitte, Charles Berling.
Trivia: Nicole Kidman, Sharon Stone, Julianne Moore and Diane Lane were considered for the lead role.
Golden Globes: Best Foreign Language Motion Picture, Actress (Huppert).
Last word: “With Arnold, and with Elizabeth Berkeley and Sharon Stone, I was talking a lot to them. ‘Do this, don’t do that, look at the video.’ With Arnold, very simple and very easy. There was a lot of talk in the way we shot. […] With Isabelle Huppert, I learned very fast that I should trust her in everything that she did. We discussed a lot about costumes, makeup, etc. We discussed the choreography of scenes, but we never discussed character psychology or anything. I let her go. I let her go even if she continued scenes way beyond the point where it was supposed to stop.” (Verhoeven, Slant Magazine)
