Elles

While a thought-provoking film about the indignities suffered by women in even the most ostensibly enlightened modern societies would be welcome, Polish feminist director Malgoska Szumowska's Elles tackles the subject in such heavy-handed fashion that it even undercuts the talented Juliette Binoche, who stars as Anne, a freelance writer struggling to finish an article on French college students who moonlight as prostitutes, even as she herself is buffeted by the male-centered demands in her own life. Her husband, Patrick (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing), is distant, often absent, and—as she discovers—a fan of Internet pornography. Anne's older son, Florent (François Civil), is a pot-smoking slacker who ridicules her complaints about his skipping school, younger son Stéphane (Pablo Beugnet) only seems interested in video games, and her elderly, infirm father demands her attention as well. Anne's feelings of being trapped in an identity subservient to male needs is intensified by her contact with two interviewees: Charlotte (Anaïs Demoustier), a middle-class girl dissatisfied with her conventional life, and Alicja (Joanna Kulig), a Polish immigrant compelled to enter the trade. Anne comes to realize that although her situation appears benign, she's just as much controlled by male expectations as are her subjects. Unfortunately, once Elles makes that point, the film does nothing but reiterate it repeatedly, often through sexually explicit juxtapositions that are more unpleasant than titillating. Ultimately, this is a chilly, remote effort that even the committed performances of the three lead actresses can't transform from cinematic op-ed into compelling drama. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a stills gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)