Elle’s bizarre awards trajectory

By the time Elle was released, Huppert had been recognised for four decades as one of the great living screen actors, yet had never really been in the conversation for mainstream Hollywood awards.

All of a sudden, like a bolt from the blue, Elle comes along and she was the likely runner-up for the Oscar.

Why this film and this role? It’s not as if Elle was particularly accessible compared to some of her other work, or that the reviews were stronger than numerous times before. Yet suddenly she was the toast of Hollywood.

I loved Elle and I LOVE Huppert, and I was delighted to watch her that awards season (and it was very clear that she was having a great time too!) but I always found it odd that this particular film suddenly got this sublime actress the attention.