Episode 261 - Elle

Isabelle Huppert tackles another inscrutably twisted character in this stunner from Paul Verhoeven.  Michele is the head of a video game company who is sexually assaulted in her home by a masked intruder.  What follows is a game of cat and mouse that will leave you guessing.  'Elle' is also a study of a circle of friends and family, all of whom are flawed or damaged in some way.  The whole ensemble of actors is stellar, but it is Huppert who rises above in her Golden Globe-winning performance that elevates this film to greatness.  Andrew and Phil do their best to ascertain if the film is mere schadenfreude or if we can learn something about human nature from Huppert's confounding performance. You can download the podcast here by right-clicking on the hypertext link and choosing "save as", or you can use the convenient player attached to this post.