A seemingly typical 17 year old girl, Isabelle, begins secretly selling her body to successful older men. This film is insightful and honest, without giving judgment and due to unexpected turns, we find ourselves wondering why she does what she does. Francois Ozon's Young and Beautiful portrays a young girl, Isabelle, (Marine Vacth) exploring her sexuality through prostitution after losing her virginity in a seemingly unpleasant manner. Her attitude towards these sexual encounters is very emotionless and distant.
We first meet Isabelle during vacation just before her 17th birthday where she loses her virginity to a German boy, Felix. While his body is on top of hers, we see the look in Isabelle's eyes turn detached and cold. The next scene, we find that the family has returned to their home in the city. By this time she has begun meeting clients online and meeting in elegant hotel rooms, always arriving in a nice suit, but returning home in her school clothes. She has many encounters with rich older men, some of which could be old enough to be her grandfather. These encounters seem very displeasing to her. During these encounters, she seems disinterested in the money as well as the sexual act itself. She meets Georges (Johan Leysen) and her attitude towards the situation remains the same, yet we find that her encounters with him begin to change after a while. Georges takes an interest in her and we get the feeling that he genuinely cares for her. They meet often and her attitude towards the sexual acts remains basically the same, yet she becomes more comfortable during their encounters. In an unexpected turn of events, Isabelle's secret is found out by her family and they are very surprised as well as confused by her actions. She goes to see a therapist to hopefully get some insight on why she has been selling her body to these men. Like many French films, the movie leaves you wondering what happens after the ending scene.
The scene when Isabelle's mother (Geraldine Pailhas) has found out and is discussing this with her daughter for the first time is very emotional. In this scene we feel the distress and confusion as well as anger from her mother towards her daughter's actions. Her mother's reaction may seem extreme, but it shows how she is hurting because of Isabelle's trysts and possibly because she sees herself in the same way that she is ridiculing Isabelle. This is one of the ways that this film shows the struggles of a family. While most families don't deal with prostitution, they have their own sins to deal with. During this confrontation, we feel pain and violence as well as love.
I would recommend this film to young adults as well as older adults. Isabelle is a young and beautiful girl who comes from a stable family. We see a number of occasions when Isabelle seems almost accepting of her clients degrading comments. At times it feels as though she believes that this is her self-worth and is deserving of this. Isabelle is disinterested in the money she receives from the clients and the sexual act itself and she is called a whore. So why does she sell herself to these men then? That is one of the beauties of this film. The film goes to show one of life's greatest truths, that not everything has a clear cut answer.
We first meet Isabelle during vacation just before her 17th birthday where she loses her virginity to a German boy, Felix. While his body is on top of hers, we see the look in Isabelle's eyes turn detached and cold. The next scene, we find that the family has returned to their home in the city. By this time she has begun meeting clients online and meeting in elegant hotel rooms, always arriving in a nice suit, but returning home in her school clothes. She has many encounters with rich older men, some of which could be old enough to be her grandfather. These encounters seem very displeasing to her. During these encounters, she seems disinterested in the money as well as the sexual act itself. She meets Georges (Johan Leysen) and her attitude towards the situation remains the same, yet we find that her encounters with him begin to change after a while. Georges takes an interest in her and we get the feeling that he genuinely cares for her. They meet often and her attitude towards the sexual acts remains basically the same, yet she becomes more comfortable during their encounters. In an unexpected turn of events, Isabelle's secret is found out by her family and they are very surprised as well as confused by her actions. She goes to see a therapist to hopefully get some insight on why she has been selling her body to these men. Like many French films, the movie leaves you wondering what happens after the ending scene.
The scene when Isabelle's mother (Geraldine Pailhas) has found out and is discussing this with her daughter for the first time is very emotional. In this scene we feel the distress and confusion as well as anger from her mother towards her daughter's actions. Her mother's reaction may seem extreme, but it shows how she is hurting because of Isabelle's trysts and possibly because she sees herself in the same way that she is ridiculing Isabelle. This is one of the ways that this film shows the struggles of a family. While most families don't deal with prostitution, they have their own sins to deal with. During this confrontation, we feel pain and violence as well as love.
I would recommend this film to young adults as well as older adults. Isabelle is a young and beautiful girl who comes from a stable family. We see a number of occasions when Isabelle seems almost accepting of her clients degrading comments. At times it feels as though she believes that this is her self-worth and is deserving of this. Isabelle is disinterested in the money she receives from the clients and the sexual act itself and she is called a whore. So why does she sell herself to these men then? That is one of the beauties of this film. The film goes to show one of life's greatest truths, that not everything has a clear cut answer.