Synopsis
Elles is a 2011 French-Polish drama film directed by Malgorzata Szumowska, which features Juliette Binoche as the star cast. The film is deeply psychological and emotional, examining current womanhood through the prism of modern-day life. It includes elements of artistic philosophy and, conflict, as well as independence and internal conflict alongside the self-societal apprehensions that an individual faces as a result of a climactic challenge and the contradictions that accompany that challenge.
It revolves around the life of Anne, a prominent journalist working for a well known French magazine. While she preparing an article that details the lives of university students working and studying and the students most of Anne’s time is spent talking to people about things that are beyond the scope of an article. While she is supposed to cover a story, Anne’s encounters becomes a deeply introspective and emotionally challenging experience.
These women are Alicja and Charlotte, the two Parisians Anne encounters. They are university students living in Paris. They look like any other university student, smart, self dependent and goal driven. However, in every case, she has taken an unconventional route to achieving financial independence. The film does not merely articulate the life choices, but focuses on the character, the intelligence, and the basis of the decision to self-construct. They are not shown as oversimplified, but as people attempting to tame life’s adversities.
As Anne conducts her interviews, she begins reevaluating her own life. Although she is professionally secure, personally content, and enjoys moderate affluence, while considering all these above, she is perplexed with the societal roles and the societal behaviors she has embraced throughout her life. Anne, through these dialogues, considers individual liberty, the concept of personal life, and mastering life.
Instead of being events centered movie, Elles probes into the lives of its characters’ minds — how they view themselves, how they confront problems, and how they justify their actions. This is not a movie of condemnation. It is a movie of empathy. It reveals the universal human experiences the people of all societies often desire: to be recognized, to be listened to, and to live with honor.
Cast & Characters
The film is sufficiently potent in its core, and dominates in its captivating and stellar performances, while also retaining profound, multi-faceted characters.
Juliette Binoche as Anne
Juliette Binoche is a celebrated actress with a wide global appeal, and her interpretation as Anne is both detailed and full of emotion. She plays a character that keeps her emotions latent. As Anne juggles her family alongside her work, we witness how her perspective gradually adapts. Binoche manages to capture those changes perfectly.
Joanna Kulig as Alicja
Alicja is a very vigorous and confident individual. She is a Polish student living in France, and is very practical in her approach towards her situation, as well as very unapologetic towards her actions. Kulig enlivens the character by going beyond portraying just a subject of Anne’s article, and instead, presenting her with her own ideals and agency.
Anaïs Demoustier as Charlotte
Relative to Alicja, Charlotte is milder and more poised. Her actions are internally motivated, and she is very pensive. Demoustier imbues her with a subtle strength, showing that under the passive surface, there is a woman aware of her decisions, and their consequences.
All three; Anne, Alicja, and Charlotte, encompass different aspects of womanhood and the freedom that comes with it. Their interactions form a perfect example of a character study in contemporary life, framing identity through the additions and subtractions that result from each woman’s presence.
Direction and Cinematography
Malgorzata Szumowska deliberate and emotional approach to the subject matter is truly unique. While the desire to sensationalize the lives of the young women Anne interviews might be the more popular approach, Szumowska chooses to evoke empathy. The camera work often lingers on poignant moments, which can be on the quiet face of a character, a domestic space, or a sprawling city, and begs the audience to meditate along with the character.
This approach and style is equally complemented in the work of the cinematography by Michał Englert, who uses a gentle, soft, and intimate visual approach. The warm colored tones that dominate Anne’s home is visually in contrasts with the cold and often bleak images of Paris, which is a manifestation of Anne’s emotional and mental divide. The division of space and light and composition of the image is the dominant factor in portraying an emotional and a mental state without resorting to overwhelming dialogue.
The pacing of the film is leisurely, allowing the audience to envelop themselves in the emotional state of the character, instead of pushing them through a sequence of events. This pacing adds to the reflective nature of the film and encourages the audience to consider, as opposed to react.
Themes and Symbolism
Elles is deeply thematic. At the center of the film are
Autonomy and Choice: Each of the central women in the film exercises life choices, be it career, lifestyle, or personal convictions. There is no moral to the film. It simply lays the choices out honestly.
Identity and Self-Reflection: The narrative is told through Anne’s internal view. She is forced to confront some version of her self, which in turn, is a value and belief system puzzle to solve.
Social Expectations: The film gently critiques the rules that govern women. The rules of conduct, work, motherhood, and ethics are all on the table.
Contrast Between Appearances and Reality: Anne’s life on the surface, and her thoughts privately, are at odds with each other. The women in whom Anne invests her assumptions, are in truth, much deeper than the contours Anne desires to believe.
Reflective of the character’s internal states, the film uses symbolically salient elements: music, mirrors, and urban and interior scenes. Music is done in a way that the scenes are never overloaded, rather, they serve to enhance a dramatic value in the transition points of silence.
IMDb Rating and Critical Reception
Elles has a mixed rating on IMDb of 5.6/10. While some reviewers find its pacing or narrative style peculiar, others enjoy its subtle storytelling and artistic elements. Much of the criticism and appreciation, however, remains solely attributed to Juliette Binoche and the mature treatment of the complex issues addressed in the film.
Her performance in the film was subsequently the recipient of a myriad of awards, recognizing the sheer emotional nuance she was able to capture. The treatment of the film’s subject of deep introspection and analysis gained refreshing insight into a delicate subject in a manner seen as braver than most from the community.
In academic and cultural spheres, the film has been regarded as a discussion about the representation of women in the media, and has steered discourse around the issues of personal truth, autonomy, and a woman’s multifaceted self.
Conclusion
Elles is a film that does not indulge in dramatic twists or facile explanations. It provides space for introspection in a gentle manner by showing the lives of three differing and yet equally intriguing women. The film is exceptional in the manner of acting, direction, and the text which pays regard to the intricacy of the character. It challenges its audiences to look beyond oversimplified assumptions and examine the character’s choices and identity in a more nuanced manner.
Elles is a more than a film for entertainment. It is a commentary on the interplay of social relations and personal evolution, and those who wish to engage with mature and provocative cinema will find a rewarding experience.
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