This post originally appeared on the DVD Netflix blog “Inside the Envelope.” That company folded in 2023, and the blog was shut down, but you might find some good stuff here.
Isabelle Huppert made her movie debut in 1971 and has not slowed down since. I first saw Huppert in Home (2008), where she plays the wife and mother in a family driven crazy by the opening of a freeway. Over her storied career, she’s played almost every imaginable character, but no matter what role she plays, she is always Isabelle Huppert. There’s a sense that: now Isabelle is a prostitute; now she’s a rancher; now she’s judge. I like Huppert’s style, so it’s interesting to watch her take on all of these varied personas.
Of the 70 movies Huppert has appeared in, more than 30 are available on DVD Netflix. I added those to my queue and watched them over several months. It’s interesting to see her development over the years, and as she ages, she only becomes stronger. Many of Huppert’s films are unrated, some are subtitled, and most are generally for mature audiences. Here they are in order of release:
The Brontë Sisters (1979) Huppert plays Anne Bronte, who along with her sisters, Charlotte and Emily, publishes wildly successful novels. As they become literary sensations in their time, tragedy strikes.
Heaven’s Gate (1980) Once upon a time, immigrants came to Wyoming and wealthy cattlemen found a devious way to wipe them out. Worst part? It’s based on a true story.
Coup de Torchon (1981) Set in Senegal, a police chief is tired of being humiliated by the villagers and his own wife. Young Huppert shows her talent early in her career.
Passion (1982) Movie producers find themselves exasperated by a director because the film in production has no story.
Elective Affinities (1995) In this tragedy based on the Goethe novel, two lovers, separated for 20 years, reunite. A period piece set in Italy.
Comedy of Innocence (2000) A little boy announces to his mother that he’s the reincarnated son of another woman and wants to go “home.” Now both mothers lay claim to him in a story similar to the Old Testament’s “Judgment of Solomon.”
The Piano Teacher (2001) Huppert plays a piano teacher is “inappropriate” with her student and not afraid to get down and dirty. Based on the novel by Nobel Literature Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek.
La Vie Promise (2002) As a prostitute and deadbeat mom, Huppert is brilliant in this tragic tearjerker. When she looks back on her career, she should be especially proud of this one.
8 Women (2002) Think Agatha Christie in a musical form. Huppert’s character goes from prim to posh. Quite amusing even as a family Christmas gathering is ruined by a murder.
Time of the Wolf (2003) An interesting story of a family coping in a society that devolves into chaos then into a new, primitive society. Warning: animal-cruelty scenes.
I Heart Huckabees (2004) In an anything-goes, slightly fantastic comedy-mystery, Huppert joins a cast including all-stars like Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Jude Law, and Naomi Watts.
Gabrielle (2005) Gabrielle, an unfulfilled wife in turn-of-the-century Paris, wants to experience real love once in her life. Based on a Joseph Conrad short story, “The Return.”
Comedy of Power (2006) Huppert plays a judge investigating a political/corporate scandal. Based on the real-life “Elf Affair,” the film displays a disclaimer that any resemblance is “coincidental.”
Private Property (2006) Talk about a mom of snowflakes! Her two sons are the worst, but she tolerates it. What else can she do?
Hidden Love (2007) This film is about a devastatingly troubled mother/daughter relationship. Neither realizes how much she is loved.
Home (2008) A family’s peace is eroded by the opening of a busy freeway outside their front door. As the traffic cuts them off from society and the noise drums away at their brains, they start to unravel individually and as a family.
White Material (2009) A woman in Africa tries to hold onto her coffee plantation in the midst of social unrest. Makes you wonder who’s right and who’s wrong.
Special Treatment (2010) Huppert plays an aging high-class prostitute having a midlife crisis. The oldest profession is compared to the field of psychiatry.
My Worst Nightmare (2011) This is the story of a stale relationship stirred up by an unconventional third party. The title gives you a hint that things might not end well.
In Another Country (2012) Set in South Korea, this production is very much akin in delivery as Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. Huppert plays three characters in three stories. Quite odd acting and dialogue, but entertaining.
Dormant Beauty (2012) This film examines the right to die in Italy, whether for the comatose or the conscious. Several stories take place during the last days of Eluana Englaro, a woman who spent 17 years in a coma.
Amour (2012) Huppert plays the daughter of retired music teachers who are beginning to show their age. As the mother becomes more forgetful, the father must take on more and more of her care. Their daughter’s concern feels like more of a threat to them than a comfort.
Abuse of Weakness (2014) Huppert plays her most-vulnerable character yet as a director who suffers a stroke. She goes back to work before she’s ready and falls prey to a con man she casts in her film.
Tip Top (2014) As an eccentric detective assigned to a crime-spree investigation, Huppert’s character is paired with a less-experienced female colleague. Their styles can’t be more different when investigating a murder.
Things to Come (2016) Huppert plays a teacher with a seemingly perfect life. Suddenly, her husband decides to leave her, and on top of that, her beloved career is threatened.
Souvenir (2016) A has-been singer (Huppert) lives a quiet, anonymous life. When a young co-worker recognizes her, he convinces her to make a comeback.
Louder than Bombs (2016) After their photographer mother dies, two brothers share their memories of her while their father tries to mend his relationship with them.
False Confessions (2017) Based on the 1737 de Marivaux play, False Confessions was filmed at Théâtre de l’Odéan during the day while original play performed there at night. A penniless young man serves as a private secretary for a wealthy widow.
Claire’s Camera (2018) Did you ever get fired and not know why? Huppert plays a school teacher at Cannes who helps a young film sales assistant find out why she lost her job.
Dead Man Down (2013) Huppert plays a secondary role in this film, as the mother of a woman who wants revenge on the drunk driver who caused the collision that left her with facial scars. At the same time, the hit man has his own mission of revenge.
Valley of Love (2016) A son’s suicide and a promise of his return brings his estranged parents together again in Death Valley. Devastating and probably one of Huppert’s best performances.
Elle (2016) Huppert received an Oscar nomination for her role as a rape victim who tracks down her assailant. She’s a businesswoman and must keep that part of her world in one piece while the rest of it is falling apart.
Greta (2018) This would have to be Huppert’s most-dysfunctional role ever. She’s a lonely piano teacher who befriends a young naïve woman in New York City. When the young woman starts to figure things out, it gets ugly and frightening.
Frankie (2019) When an actress learns she has a terminal condition, she gathers her family in the historic town of Sintra, Portugal, not far from Lisbon. During their time together, the extended family spends more time together than ever before, and this creates both dramatic tension and deep feelings.
