Young & Beautiful (2013)

After losing her virginity, Isabelle takes up a secret life as a call girl, meeting her clients for hotel-room trysts. Throughout, she remains curiously aloof, showing little interest in the encounters themselves or the money she makes.

Director:

François Ozon

Writer:

François Ozon

Stars:

Marine Vacth, Géraldine Pailhas, Frédéric Pierrot

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marine Vacth	...	Isabelle
Géraldine Pailhas	...	Sylvie
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Patrick
Fantin Ravat	...	Victor
Yves Bole
Johan Leysen	...	Georges Ferriere
Charlotte Rampling	...	Alice
Nathalie Richard	...	Véro
Djedje Apali	...	Peter
Lucas Prisor	...	Felix
Laurent Delbecque	...	Alex
Jeanne Ruff	...	Claire
Carole Franck	...	La policière
Olivier Desautel	...	Le policier
Serge Hefez	...	Le psychiatre

Storyline

Isabelle is on summer holidays with her family in the south of France. She decides to lose her virginity to a German boy called Felix, but the experience leaves her cold. By autumn she is exploring her sexuality further on through working as a prostitute under the nickname Lea and meeting an older man called Georges as well as other clients. During one encounter with Georges, he dies from a heart attack. Isabelle leaves the scene and quits prostitution but the police eventually track her down and reveal her secret life to her mother.

---

Plot Keywords:

male nudity | student prostitute | masturbation | female full frontal nudity | virginity | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

25 April 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young & Beautiful

Filming Locations:

Le Pradet, Var, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,600 (USA) (25 April 2014)

Gross:

$48,022 (USA) (30 May 2014)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandarin Films, Mars Films, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot chronologically.

---

Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2013 (2013)

User Reviews

Interesting but shallow

A young and beautiful girl sells her body to rich older men, lying about her age, and hiding it to her parents and friends. Until an unexpected event forces her to confront reality. The new film's subject from French director François Ozon is close to Julia Leigh's 2011 "Sleeping Beauty", but the treatment is quite different. Nothing is odd or strange here. We follow Isabelle's journey through the discovery of sexuality in a very realistic fashion, typical of Ozon's filmmaking.

The only trouble is that we are not troubled ! The script is so predictable that we get very few surprises throughout the film, and we do not care for Isabelle's fate at all. That's a shame considering the interesting subject.

The lack of explanation for her behavior is a good thing, we do not get the usual psychological/environment/parents syndrome, but this leads to a certain shallowness.

Actors do a fine number, especially the beautiful Marine Vacth, whom we should see again very soon, hopefully in a more rewarding role.