François Ozon's new film is a luxurious fantasy of a young girl's flowering: a very French and very male fantasy, like the pilot episode of the world's classiest soap opera. There's some softcore eroticism and an entirely, if enjoyably, absurd final scene with Charlotte Rampling, whose cameo lends a grandmotherly seal of approval to the drama's sexual adventure. But this is well-crafted and well-acted, with strong performances from Géraldine Pailhas and Frédéric Pierrot as well-to-do middle-aged couple Sylvie and Patrick, and from newcomer Marine Vacth as Isabelle, their 17-year-old daughter, who is on the verge of a seismic personal transformation. There is also a nice contribution from Fantin Ravat as Isabelle's kid brother Victor: a saucer-eyed onlooker and confidant – and also, I suspect, the fictional transformation of Ozon himself.
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