paul verhoeven is the director and it is based on a novel. almost as if huuppert becomes the auteur of the film. it has been described as a black comedy, a social satire and rape revenge movie. it is all and yet none of these things. what is is nobody else other than this character could have done that. they couldn't get the financing in america. she went on to be nominated for an oscar. she is brilliant in this and i think she is brilliant in almost everything she is in. if it wasn't for the strength of her performance, if it wasn't for the extraordinary way in which she just dominates the screen, this would be a very different film. that said, it is absolutely a film which is designed to wrong—foot you, which is designed to make you feel uncomfortable. it has been interesting to see the many different ways critics have responded to it, trying to describe it. the best way to describe it, it is an huppert film, rather than a paul verhoeven film. moonlight, it is back in the cinemas? it is back. it is such a marvellous work, a work of art and

of the collaboration between the fearless, often tra nsgressive actress and the dutch director paul verhoevento the limits. in a moment, we'll be discussing whether such a narrative is anti—feminist, or whether we need to accept a complex, often unpalatable truth that, for some, extreme violence is part and parcel of sex. but first — spoiler alert — here are some scenes from the film, which some may find disturbing. michele leblanc starts to track down her attacker but doesn't go to the police, mainly because of the notoriety associated with her name. her father was a psychopath who killed more than 20 people and who was unmasked when michele was just ten years old. as the film unfolds, we have the unsettling sense that she could be luring her attacker to identify him or to kill him — or because, in some way, she is intrigued, even turned on by him. well, newsnight took two women to watch the film — polly neate, chief executive of the group womens‘ aid, and the journalist zoe williams. they are here now. good evening. is it important to have such a complex expression of rape as this and the i