The wife knew all about it - Elle (2016) Discussion

Yup, she was a religious nutcase though.

TFA - rehashed pos

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] somf 8 years ago

I kind of feel like I may have missed the point of this film. My guess is that it is one elaborate revenge played out, but I think the revelation that the wife was aware was perhaps the most interesting twist. Is the message that everyone has some deep dark twisted part of their soul? Which I don't agree with. How about the kid that was in denial about his baby and his horrible shrew of a wife. Little about the film made any sense. And the rape stuff was just horrible. After the first scene I thought, well at least that scene is out of the way. Little did I know. All that being said, I was never bored and Huppert did an excellent job.

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[–] I_Created_U 7 years ago

I kind of feel like I may have missed the point of this film.

I see what you mean by that and i kinda feel the same. However, every time i come across such a movie whose moral or overall meaning escape me, i always remind myself that art's purpose isn't necessarily to have meaning, it is the arouse feelings, to generate a reaction from the viewer, for better or worse. And as such, this piece of art absolutely delivered.

Moreover, it has the benefit of adding realism to the movie insofar as reality itself lacks inherent meaning and as such, there are tons of behaviors, situations and people out there, which simply don't make sense from an objective and rational point of view. Humans are deeply irrational beings and movies are often an attempt to make it look like we aren't and that events, phenomenons and even life itself have a clear unmistakable beginning interrupted by a meaningful end, which would somehow make sense of everything that has happened in between. I like things reminding me that this is only an illusion. We don't have a purpose or meaning, everything is absurd in and of itself. That's how i see things anyway.

I think the revelation that the wife was aware was perhaps the most interesting twist

Have to agree there. And the way it is revealed to the viewer is really intriguing in itself! Almost like it makes you doubt of what you've heard because the wife says it so casually and Michèle takes it with so little surprise that one wonders if one has heard it correctly. I like that.

Is the message that everyone has some deep dark twisted part of their soul? Which I don't agree with.

How can you not agree with this? Isn't it a self-evident kinda thing that everyone has something to hide? Are you telling me that you would have no problem if everybody you know would watch and hear your thoughts in real time on a daily basis? I don't think so. Nobody can afford to have every single one of his thoughts exposed. It would imply that you never lie, that there is not a single person out there that you pretend to like more or less than you actually do and that you don't harbor any single sexual fantasy or that you accept them all without shame. I don't think anybody is like that. Not even Mother Theresa or Jesus could afford that.

After the first scene I thought, well at least that scene is out of the way.

That cracked me up because this is exactly what i thought too! Little did we know that it would be replayed over and over even with different scenarios and little did we know too that there would be several different instances of rape and even instances of "simulated" rape. All in all, i was really shocked too as rape is one of the few things i have a really hard time watching on screen (that and senseless torture, sadism etc) and i have to say that if i had known how much it had in store for me, i wouldn't have pressed play. But now that it is done, i'm happy i've watched it. Love Isabelle Huppert. 6.5/10

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

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[–] 7 years ago

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[–] I_Created_U 7 years ago

Yes, the wife definitively knew something, but the question is what?

Did she know he was a rapist or did she think he "only" had rape fantasies? Did she know he raped their neighbor Michèle? Or did she think they had an affair? Did she know that he invented the intruder he claimed to have chased down? Did she know that he was the intruder in the neighborhood all along?

If she knew all of the above, then she was downright complicit, but somehow i highly doubt that, it doesn't seem to fit the character. But her words with Michèle definitively suggest she knew something, what, i don't know, but i have a hard time imagining that it was the whole story.

In my opinion, it was more like the husband said to his wife that Michèle was coming on to him and that he'd like to have sex with her and she probably agreed to that in order to make him happy; i don't think a devout Christian would condone rape - yes, i know, prisons are full of Christians too, but still.

But at the end of the day, it is purposefully made to be ambiguous, so your guess is as good as mine.

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

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