Young & Beautiful

Isabelle, a seventeen year old student, finishes a sunlit summer with a quick romance and a stubborn sense of possibility. When she returns home, she leads a double life she keeps well hidden: a yearlong job as a sex worker. The story follows her as she balances school, family expectations, and the demands of secrecy while discovering what desire can mean at a young age. François Ozon keeps the camera close, focusing on small choices and the emotional tremors they generate rather than sensational pulp. The film avoids easy judgments, presenting the toll and tenderness of autonomy, the blur between affection and profit, and the price of privacy in a world watching closely.

Directed by François Ozon, Young & Beautiful appears as an original French drama not adapted from a preexisting work. The film premiered in 2013, showcasing Ozon's cool, clinical style as it probes adolescent desire with calm intensity and patient restraint.

With a budget around 4.65 million, the film earned approximately 9.76 million worldwide, reflecting solid audience turnout for a daringly intimate French drama. The numbers show a respectable return for a character driven, art house project that resonated with viewers.

Critics noted the film for its restrained approach to a fraught subject and Marine Vacth's precise performance as Isabelle. The movie sparked conversations about how teenage sexuality is depicted on screen, the ethics of money and desire, and the line between curiosity and exploitation in contemporary cinema in public discourse.

Critical reception was mixed but mostly thoughtful, acknowledging Ozon's cool, observational tone while noting the emotional nuance of Isabelle's choices. The film leans into questions of autonomy, the cost of secrecy, and how youth negotiates selfhood under the gaze of adults and society. Some reviews praised restraint, others demanded upheaval.