Isabelle Huppert

Featuring an original interview with French cinematic legend Isabelle Huppert, this collection remedies the absence of scholarly attention on her body of work. This volume deconstructs Huppert’s star persona and public profile through critical and theoretical analysis of her various screen roles—from her very early appearances alongside Romy Schneider in César et Rosalie (Sautet, 1972) and Gérard Depardieu in Les Valseuses (1974) to a number of celebrated collaborations with high-profile European auteurs such as Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Haneke and Joseph Losey, and with more popular auteurs such as Claude Chabrol and François Ozon. Known for a cerebral internalization of characterisation, a technical mastery of extreme emotions, and a singular brand of icy intellectualism, Huppert’s performances continue to impress, stun and surprise audiences. By focussing on a number of theoretical questions that relate to image, identity, sexuality and place, this volume situates Huppert’s star persona in the more practical creative contexts of performance, authorship, genre and collaboration. This volume contrasts complementary critical accounts of her stardom by working across the different periods and territories of her career.