Film Review: Jeunne & Jolie (18) (France 2013) (Director: Francois Ozon) (French with English Subtitles),  The Cameo Cinema Screen Three, Edinburgh, Monday 02.12.2013, 21:00

The film title, I believe translates as 'Young & Beautiful'. The film centres upon a seventeen year old girl called Isabelle played by Marine Vacth. I understand that Marine is known as a model in France and that this is her first acting role. Isabelle comes from a well educated and reasonably well off middle class family in Paris. After her first sexual encounter she decides to become a prostitute. When her family find out as they inevitably do, they are perplexed as Isabelle is underage and her background does not help to engender understanding.

The film was slammed by critics for being solely surface with no depth. I would disagree, I feel that the film in the second half goes on to explore grief and how Isabelle having done this for a period may have it come to flavour potentially all subsequent intimate relations. I would say that the film also quite gently addresses differing reasoning and behaviour of 'punters' towards prostitutes.

The film never does fully resolve why Isabelle started to do this. I think it is not beyond the realms of possibility that she knows she is beautiful, sex can be fun and exciting (particularly when you are in the early stages of exploration), and it is a way of earning a fairly substantial sum of money: autonomy. I also think it is quite probable that in such a situation, setting out to do this work that someone is unlikely to think of the possible negative outcomes, otherwise why would they begin.

Marine Vacth was impressive and quite able to express emotion with rawness. She was also quite beautiful, like a younger Vanessa Paradis, though without the gap in the teeth. The film also had a great soundtrack with the likes of Crystal Castles and Francoise Hardy on it, and towards the end there is a great Cameo by Charlotte Rampling just for good measure. A perfectly engaging, enjoyable film.

Rating: 08/10.