The mighty Isabelle Huppert is an acting legend. In a career spanning over fifty years, Huppert has worked with influential filmmakers like Jean-Luc Goddard, Claude Chabrol, Michael Haneke, and Paul Verhoeven. Ranked second in the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century list by The New York Times, Huppert is widely considered among the all-time greatest performers.
The French actress is famous for portraying complicated, morally austere, disruptive women unafraid to challenge conventions. Her roles and films are often incendiary, chilling portrayals of the human psyche that leave audiences disturbed and thoughtful. Huppert has starred in multiple films in France and abroad, earning acclaim from international audiences and cementing her legacy as a titan of the silver screen.
10 ‘8 Women’ (2002)
Director: François Ozon
François Ozon
‘s 2002 dark comedy musical
8 Women
stars Huppert opposite a collection of some of France’s most acclaimed actresses, including
Catherine Deneuve
and
Fanny Ardant
. The plot centers on eight women in a secluded, snowbound cottage. When the family’s patriarch is killed, each woman becomes a suspect, leading to an intriguing and surreal series of musical confessions.
8 Women is quite unhinged, offering an over-the-top showcase for its eight distinguished actresses. Still, Huppert almost steals the show as Augustine, the victim’s tachycardiac and somewhat unbalanced daughter. Her finest moment comes with her musical number, a soft ballad about longing filmed in a tight close-up. Huppert’s voice is surprisingly sweet, but her eyes are the scene’s true stars, evoking every powerful emotion there is. 8 Women is another great turn from Huppert, who’s aided by an equally riveting collection of French talent.
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9 ‘Loulou’ (1980)
Director: Maurice Pialat
Huppert stars opposite Gérard Depardieu in Maurice Pialat‘s romantic drama Loulou. The plot centers on Nelly, a young woman who leaves her burgeois husband to indulge in a passionate affair with the petty criminal Loulou. However, she soon realizes neither relationship provides what she’s looking for.
Loulou is an underrated gem that ranks among the greatest romantic movies. Exploring the difference between love, commitment, passion, and fulfillment, Loulou offers a refreshing and honest take on relationships and their intricacies. Nelly is a classic Isabelle Huppert character: rebellious, stubborn, and going against conventions and expectations to find what’s best for her, even if it earns her the scorn of those closest to her. Huppert goes all-in on the role, crafting a liberated woman unafraid to make mistakes and owning them.
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8 ‘Every Man for Himself (1980)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Every Man for Himself, Huppert’s first movie with the legendary Jean-Luc Godard, was something of a comeback for the director after a period of increasingly experimental films. The film follows three characters – a couple, Paul and Denise, and a prostitute, Isabelle – interacting through five distinctive sections: a prologue, three movements, and a coda.
Elevated by Godard’s typically bold approach, Every Man for Himself is a fascinating look into relationships and the inherent yet seldomly acknowledged transactional nature within them. Huppert is stellar as Isabelle, a woman attempting to live by her own rules in a ruthless world. The role perfectly suits the French starlet, who plays her like a cunning and determined woman, unafraid to seem cold or detached. Isabelle doesn’t want to survive; she wants to thrive.
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7 ‘Things to Come’ (2016)
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve
Mia Hansen-Løve‘s 2016 drama Things to Come stars Huppert as Nathalie, a middle-aged philosophy professor. Her seemingly peaceful life soon unravels when a series of tragic events – losing a book deal, her mother’s death, and her sudden divorce – test her endurance and leave her with newfound liberty.
Things to Come is a powerful examination of adult life, love, and aging. Huppert shines in one of her most delicate roles; there’s strength and stubborn resistance in Nathalie’s philosophical approach to the many tragedies plaguing her life. Yet, there’s also vulnerability in her words and demeanor, and Huppert walks a fine line between wise acceptance and stoic grief. Things to Come is reflexive and introspective, allowing Huppert to tackle unspoken feelings as only she could.
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6 ‘Coup de Torchon’ (1981)
Director: Bertrand Tavernier
The acclaimed crime dark comedy Coup de Torchon features Huppert in a rare passive role. The film follows policeman Lucien Cordier, who, tired of being the town’s mockery, takes justice into his own hands and rampages against those who wronged him. Huppert plays Rose, a young bride whose husband mistreats her and becomes the object of Cordier’s affection.
Coup de Torchon is a morbid comedy that takes wicked pleasure in mistreating its characters. Huppert’s Rose is among her most vulnerable roles. There are traits of a classic Huppert character in Rose: she’s distant and detached but restrained and endangered, qualities that few of the actress’ usual roles have. Coup de Torchon can be hard to relate to, but stellar work from Huppert and her co-star Philippe Noiret is enough to make it a worthwhile and memorable viewing experience.
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5 ‘La Cérémonie’ (1995)
Director: Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol’s 1995 crime drama La Cérémonie earned Huppert her first César Award for Best Actress. Adapted from the 1977 novel A Judgement in Stone, the film follows Sophie, a naive maid who, encouraged by Jeanne, the town’s outspoken postmistress, rebels against her wealthy bosses, leading to tragedy.
Huppert is at the peak of her abilities in La Cérémonie. The film offers a witty, macabre examination of class from one of the most influential directors of French New Wave cinema. Huppert, who always excelled under Chabrol’s direction, is devious in the role, portraying a shameless and cruel woman with a wicked glee for chaos and destruction. “Evil” might not be the word to describe Jeanne – Huppert decries such a basic descriptor. But there’s something rotten within her, and Huppert takes great joy in bringing it to life.
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4 ‘The Lacemaker’ (1977)
Director: Claude Goretta
Huppert stars opposite Yves Beneyton in the 1977 drama The Lacemaker. The plot centers on the romance between Béatrice “Pomme,” an introverted young woman working as a hairdresser, and François, an intellectual and emotionally manipulative member of the French upper class.
The Lacemaker was Huppert’s ticket to stardom, receiving her first César nomination for Best Actress and attracting international attention. Like many of her roles, Pomme is distant and hard to pin down. Huppert relishes playing the character’s inwardness, using her famous face as a canvas to paint a landscape of emotions that exquisitely reflect Pomme’s complex yet rich state of mind. The Lacemaker is Huppert at her most subtle, delivering a magnificent performance that cemented her as a mighty acting force to be reckoned with.
Not available to stream or buy in the United States.
3 ‘La Sepáration’ (1994)
Director: Christian Vincent
The disintegration of a marriage will always be prime material for a motion picture. However, Christian Vincent‘s 1994 drama La Sepáration opts for a more cynical approach. Huppert and Daniel Auteuil star as Anne and Pierre, a Parisian couple whose marriage ends after she announces her love for another man. Although calm at first, Pierre’s paranoia and insecurity escalate, and the former couple’s dynamic further deteriorates.
A remarkably intense romantic drama, La Sepáration is more concerned with the process and intricacies of separating than with the aftermath. Huppert is astonishing as Anne, framed by Vincent’s camera in stunning close-ups that reveal everything without a single word being uttered. La Sepáration has one of Huppert’s subtlest performances without losing the spark that has made her an acting titan for the past five decades. As always, the actress finds strength in silence, using her piercing eyes to cut deeper than any word ever could.
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2 ‘Elle’ (2016)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven’s 2016 film Elle is among the all-time best psychological thrillers. Huppert stars as Michèle, a businesswoman sexually assaulted in her home. Due to a previous unpleasant experience with the police, she doesn’t report the incident; instead, she becomes determined to track the man who attacked her, entering a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Elle is the marriage of two remarkably bold and unafraid artists operating at the top of their game. Guided by Verhoeven’s singularly audacious vision, Huppert delivers a career-best performance; she’s disturbing, intimidating, empowered, dubious, and utterly riveting. It’s a tremendously brave and unique portrayal that could only come from an actress as imposing as Huppert. Elle gave the actress her first and so far only Oscar nomination, but the true reward is simply watching her do what she does best.
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1 ‘The Piano Teacher (2001)
Director: Michael Haneke
The Piano Teacher stars Isabelle Huppert as a mentally and sexually repressed piano instructor living with her overbearing mother. When she meets a handsome student, an instant attraction forms, leading them into a sadomasochistic relationship with unexpected results.
It’s not an overstatement to say The Piano Teacher sees Huppert delivering one of the finest performances ever recorded on the silver screen. The film is a tough experience, relentless and often outright unpleasant to endure. Yet Huppert, led by the equally daring provocateur Michael Haneke, dives head-first into the film’s troubled waters, bravely venturing where few other actresses would – or could. The Piano Teacher is a hypnotic depiction of repression, trauma, and sexual frustration, with Huppert playing a volcanic character that ranks as arguably the finest of her prestigious career.
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