Isabelle Huppert says she never reads “dreadful” critics

French acting legend Isabelle Huppert has revealed that she never reads reviews from “dreadful” critics.

The actor, 71, has amassed a formidable reputation over the past 50 years for her work in both French and English language films, and is the most nominated actress in the history of the César Awards, the French equivalent of the Oscars.

Some of her best-known performances have come in films such as Paul Verhoeven’s Elle (2016), for which she received an Oscar nomination, Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher (2001), David O. Russell’s I Heart Huckabees (2004) and Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate (1980).

In a new Q&A interview with The Guardian, Huppert answered questions from fans, one of whom focused on the 2016 Mia Hansen-Løve film Things To Come, in which Huppert plays a middle-aged philosophy professor whose life undergoes a series of personal and professional changes.

When asked if she finds it challenging when people don’t “get” films such as Things To Come, she countered that the film was critically acclaimed, picking up the Silver Bear prize in Berlin. It did trigger Huppert to exclaim, however, that whether or not a film is praised by reviewers is not something she concerns herself with.

“In general, I never really read dreadful critics,” she said.

She was also asked about the differences between American and European cinema, to which she explained that most of the US productions she has been part of were in fact in line with her European projects, due to the personal nature of directors such as Russell, Curtis Hanson (The Bedroom Window) and Ira Sachs (Frankie).

Huppert’s arthouse films have been no strangers to controversy over the years. Elle made headlines in 2017 when some critics labelled it as a “rape comedy”. Director Verhoeven responded by saying: “I know those objections exists. I reject the notion that the seriousness of the rape would exclude anything funny elsewhere in the film. I feel that would be dogma from a dictator. You cannot do that. Real life is full of elements that are opposite to one another.”

He added: “There is this and it is horrible and there is that and it’s funny. There is no law that says you can’t juxtapose such things.”

The post Isabelle Huppert says she never reads “dreadful” critics appeared first on NME.