In the hierarchy of female roles, sex workers and housewives are placed at opposite ends of the spectrum. According to traditional thinking, one submits to the carnal gratification of others, the other nurtures the basic unit of patriarchal society. Yet in their servitude, structure and stigma, more commonalities exist than many think. Elles explores this convergence, with Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska (33 Scenes from Life) and her novice co-writer Tine Byrckel far from subtle in linking sexual service with domestic duty.
The film’s protagonist, journalist Anne (Juliette Binoche, Cosmopolis) initially appears confident and commanding, juggling family responsibilities – two children (Borderline’s François Civil and newcomer Pablo Beugnet) and a busy husband (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Paris-Manhattan) – with a successful writing career. Alas, as revealed through memories, her idyllic existence crumbles when exposed to the subjects of her latest article: two university students financing their education through self-employed sex work.
Anne’s interviewees – demure provincial resident Charlotte (Anaïs Demoustier, Last Winter) and outgoing Polish immigrant Alicja (Joanna Kulig, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) – are her social opposites, however a bond forms during their discussions. Expecting to find the young women depressed and oppressed, she is surprised at their assurance and empowerment. In contrast, the mundane routine of chasing her children, preparing dinner for her husband’s boss, and playing homemaker seem not only unsatisfying, but submissive and subservient.
Writer/director Szumowska is overt in her deployment of sexuality as the key to the comparison, juxtaposing Anne’s repression with Charlotte and Alicja’s explicit acts. In a series of artfully-shot, intimate scenes intertwined with the normal tasks of a regular day, the encounters are confronting but also cathartic, offering a fantastical escape for the tightly-wound, increasingly unsettled heroine. Each cross-cut sequence is jarring and jolting, even as the film’s formula is revealed. Szumowska’s technique heightens the intensity, interrupting the long, languid takes that form the bulk of the feature with abrupt edits.
Such confrontational material is not new for the luminous Binoche, nor is she ill-equipped for the emotional and physical demands of the role. As Anne flits between the housewife and prostitute stereotypes in the pursuit of fulfilment, Binoche doesn’t miss a beat, whether reacting with fury to scolding pans, coyly avoiding her interviewee’s attempts to turn the conversation on her, or constructing a sexualised outfit for a dinner party. Although the surrounding feature may not be as precise in its similar transition, it provokes in the process. Amidst the erratic eroticism, questions are posed and social conventions probed, however Elles pauses for contemplation rather than providing answers.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Elles
Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
France, 2011, 99 min
In cinemas February 7
Distributor: Palace
Rated R
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