Elles
A privileged Parisian journalist’s investigation into student prostitution becomes an unsettling examination of female agency, class, marriage, and sexual morality.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- intimate
- unsettling
- provocative
- arthouse film night
- feminist cinema discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as provocative and well acted but uneven, finding its sexual and social inquiry less coherent than intended.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Anne’s interviews with Alicja and Charlotte unsettle her assumptions about money, family, and sex.
Anne’s investigative article brings her into intimate contact with two student prostitutes whose experiences resist easy interpretation.
Anne’s comfortable marriage and family life become inseparable from the disturbing material of her investigation.
The film foregrounds Anne, Alicja, and Charlotte while connecting prostitution to female agency and judgment.
Films like Elles, and why
The Piano Teacher
intimate feminist drama examining sex work, class privilege, and female identity through unsettling personal encounters
The Lives of Others
provocative European drama focused on sexuality, social power, and psychologically charged women’s relationships
The Girlfriend Experience
frank, emotionally ambivalent drama about sex work, female agency, and the collision between private life and social judgment
Swimming Pool
European art-house drama using sexual transgression and domestic unease to interrogate bourgeois morality
Movie Details
- Director
- Małgorzata Szumowska
- Release Date
- 2011-09-09
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 5.3 / 10 (198)
Cast
- Juliette Binoche
- Anaïs Demoustier
- Joanna Kulig
- Louis-Do de Lencquesaing
- Krystyna Janda
- Andrzej Chyra
- Ali Marhyar
- François Civil
- Jean-Marie Binoche
- Pablo Beugnet
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- OVID
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Elles about?
- A privileged Parisian journalist’s investigation into student prostitution becomes an unsettling examination of female agency, class, marriage, and sexual morality.
- What is Elles like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Elles as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Elles violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Elles as mild.
- What did critics think of Elles?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as provocative and well acted but uneven, finding its sexual and social inquiry less coherent than intended.
- Which films are like Elles?
- Films with a similar feel include The Piano Teacher, The Lives of Others, The Girlfriend Experience, and Swimming Pool.
- How long is Elles?
- Elles runs 96 minutes.
- Where can I watch Elles?
- In United States, Elles streams on OVID.
