Isabelle Huppert

Huppert often appears to be doing little, which is when we start watching her most closely. She often plays women who keep their feelings under control, leaving us to decide how much sympathy they deserve. We have to pay attention to small changes of expression, and to the possibility that we have misread them. We like that uncertainty, though it is not always comfortable company.

The Lacemaker (1977) brought her international attention; Violette Nozière (1978) began her long collaboration with director Claude Chabrol. Their work together includes La Cérémonie (1995), with Huppert as Jeanne. Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher (2001), in which she plays Erika Kohut, brought her a wider international profile and gave her controlled acting particularly difficult material. She makes complicated, sometimes troubling feelings comprehensible without a large outward display. The comedy of 8 Women (2002) is a useful reminder that reserve need not rule out being funny.

In Haneke’s Amour (2012), Huppert takes the supporting role of Eva. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are the centre of this account of a marriage under the strain of illness. We were moved by Amour because their performances made the couple worth staying with, even when Haneke’s strict restraint felt oppressive. That severity is a real caveat to our recommendation, however much we admire the film. We would not use this supporting part as the fullest introduction to her acting.

Elle (2016), directed by Paul Verhoeven, gives her the lead role of Michèle and a different difficulty: keeping its mixed genres coherent. Her performance holds our attention and makes the shifts easier to follow. We would not choose it simply to spend agreeable time with a favourite actor. Start with The Piano Teacher to see how much she can do with so little outward expression; try 8 Women if we have made her sound incapable of a joke.