The Imperfect Victim: Elle

ElleDirected by Paul VerhoevenOpens November 11
Michele Leblanc doesn’t cry after she’s raped by a masked intruder in the opening scene of Paul Verhoeven’s Elle. She doesn’t scream either, nor does she call the police, or phone a friend. She simply picks herself up, dusts herself off, and calmly sweeps up the glass that’s been shattered in the wake of this particularly heinous act of violence, as a trickle of blood runs down the inside of her thigh. It’s the