Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

TeenzTen An action-packed slog

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

RResende I don't know how much in this film was self-aware and how much was going on on the back of the director. Of other experiences i've had with this filmmaker's work, i never saw anything that might make me believe i'd see anything as clever as what we have in this film. However, this film is a good experience, a piece which was cleverly allowed to breath to the rhythm of the female performances.The casting of the 5 leading female characters is the first great thing about this. All of them are more or less attached to a certain cultural (european) background, and in the world of film, each one became linked to a certain type of character. That is used in the writing of this film, and i would say each role was written bearing in mind specifically each of the ladies we see here. For each role there might be 1 or 2 other acceptable actress options, but no more.The second good thing is how acting types are allowed to play freely. Each woman dominates her scene, and bends the other (male) characters to her own breath, to her own acting rhythm and style, as much as Maura's character bends Joaquim d'Almeida to her lifestyle. The story plays accordingly, since all these women are, or fight for being, masters of their own life. So there's a folding of women trying to live free lives into women's different acting styles, allowed to run wild. This i think was not intentional, but it certainly works.Another great thing, that proves my last paragraph, are the scenes in which several of these women interact and, remarkably, the one in which the 5 of them, and only them, act together in Maura's home, and actually make a film together! I appreciated the self-reference of the thing. These scenes, specially this at Maura's house, are great because it's in the Lumet or Altman tradition of capturing the breath of each actress's performance. They are allowed to breath and each performance is thrown at each other, so the richness of the scene is in how we compare them.I'd say the general mood intended for the film was fully based on Almodóvar's film world, thus the Carmen Maura connection. This would be, i think, intentional, and the director looked for it. But he messed that up, and it's good he did, because if he'd insisted to hard on that, he might have wiped out the other great eventually non intentional stuff. But the writing is great, self-aware and fully supportive to the actresses. That's why we have two writing devices that enfold the acting nature of this film:-one of the characters is herself a performer, so she is acting an actor. Her performances are vital points for two dramatic developments in the film (her daughter watching her have sex on stage, and her jealousy towards her friend). -Carmen Maura films her friends, making confessions to the camera. So they are ostensibly framed, and placed speaking to the camera, and thus to us. Great devices.Lisbon is just a postcard here.My opinion: 4/5, you should watch this

jotix100 Luis Galvao Teles, who directed, and co-wrote, "Elles", brings together five different women whose lives are inter-connected. We follow them around Lisbon, where we are led to believe, these basically French women have found a home away from home. While the film doesn't ring true from beginning to end, it serves as a vehicle for all these fifty-something actresses that have done much better in their careers, but are now relegated to playing small roles.Eva, a teacher, falls for one of her students, who happens to be Barbara's son. Barbara discovers she has a medical problem and doesn't want to die alone. Linda loves Gigi, but can't make a commitment to him and makes him leave her bed at 3A.M. every night they spend together. Branca is an actress whose daughter is a drug addict and she is not keen on Chloe, the beautician, who make a lesbian pass at her. Chloe, who has had a drug addiction past, comes to rescue Branca's child from a life of addiction by shooting drugs with the young woman to prove her solidarity. Telenovela, anyone?Marthe Keller, Miou-Miou, Carmen Moura, Marisa Berenson, and Guesch Patti, play the five friends. Joaquim de Almeida and Morgan Perez are seen as the love interests of two of the women.While the film will not add anything to any of the resumes of the people involved, it is a somewhat fun way to spend an hour and a half.

C. H. Aguero This movie is fabulous! The film's vision is pure entertainment! It surpasses the ubiquitous genre of "women's watching." Despite its largely French and female setting, "Elles" has a message for everyone. It doesn't attempt to be profound; it presents life as it may challenge each person, female and male. The women of this film have stories that are addressed less often than they should be. The humor is clever; the plot is easy to follow. The music is uplifting; the scenes are real and raw. These elements come together, and they set the stage for understanding the dimly-lit journey of unmarried forty-somethings. By the end, even the audience feels like a million Euros.

George Parker "Elles" is a slice-of-european-middleaged-female-life flick with all the beauty and elegance of the best Europics and a cast of some of Europe's brightest female stars. The film wanders through the midlives of a bunch of interconnected women and explores their moments of passion, lust, joy, frustration, jealousy, fear, hope, despair, romance, etc. as it deals with such issues as love, affairs, aging, family, careers, drugs, lesbianism, etc. Sensitive, empathetic, compassionate, playful, wistful, etc., and without a distinct storyline, this film bathes the audience in all the wonders that are women. A fitting treatise and worthy tribute to the gentle gender beyond forty. Recommended for more mature audiences into European films about....um, well, women. (B+)