A writer is given a new perspective on her life by two women she initially imagines could not be more different than her in this drama from filmmaker Malgoska Szumowska. Anne (Juliette Binoche) is a wife and mother who maintains a busy schedule looking after her youngest son, who is obsessed with video games, her teenage son (Francois Civil), who spends much of his time stoned on marijuana, and her aging father (Jean-Marie Binoche) whose health is failing. Anne's husband (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) is too preoccupied with his own career to worry about the household chores, and she has to juggle it all while keeping up with her work as a journalist. Anne is researching a magazine piece about prostitutes, and she's been conducting extensive interviews with Alicja (Joanna Kulig) and Charlotte (Anais Demoustier), both of whom are attractive, well-adjusted women in their early twenties who have turned to sex work to support themselves. As Anne develops a greater understanding of Alicja and Charlotte's lives and work, she sees a contrast in the way the younger women have chosen a trade that, despite its reputation, affords them freedom while Anne's personal and professional life have become something of a trap. Elles was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
