Jeune & JolieIn François Ozon’s Palme d’Or nominated drama Jeune & Jolie, we focus in on the life of the mysterious teenager Isabelle, who takes up prostitution as a way of discovering the world. It’s a role sparse on dialogue, and it seems that Marine Vacth, the actress portraying her, is equally as elusive a figure, and of few words, as we caught up with her ahead of the film’s release.

Vacth – who is renowned equally for her modelling work, succeeding Kate Moss as the face of Yves Saint Laurent., spoke to us about balancing the two professions, and where she sees her future. She also tells us about her joy in working with celebrated director Ozon, and how she shaped the character of Isabelle, and what she has in common with this intriguing, cinematic creation.

This is a very brave role for you, and I was wondering if you had any apprehensions before getting involved?
I did, but they went away very quickly. When I met François he was really ironic but he had smiling eyes. I love him.

He strikes me as someone who always strives for perfection – is that the case?
I think so. He knows what he wants, but he’s quite light on the set. He has the faculty to be ironic all the time. He’s also very pragmatic and he looks like he’s not intellectualising everything. He’s seems to be doing things naturally and easily. He is serious also, we are working all day and we don’t have any time, and it has to go on, as he’s doing one movie per year. He’s always working.

There’s a very powerful scene with Charlotte Rampling that you had to shoot – she’s such an iconic, talented actress. How was that experience for you?
It was sweet and delicate and sincere.

As for the character of Isabelle, how much you were able to relate to her, and if there are any aspects of your own personality when you were 17 that you could drawn on?
No, not really. Well, maybe her silences. Or the fact that she’s not explaining so much. But she is Isabelle. I played that character as a character, not as I was remembering my own memories. We are different.

The film begins in the summer and then when we cut to the autumn, she has changed so much. We aren’t shown that change – so I was wondering why you think it was she became ‘Lea’?
I dunno, sometimes you do things and you don’t know why you’re doing them. It happened, you know. She could have done drugs, but it’s prostitution. She’s going in to that experience like that, you can’t always explain why you’re doing things. For me also, she’s still a mystery. François always thought she was a mystery. She’s doing what she’s doing.

You must have been thrilled to have been given this opportunity with this role. Is this the movie you might look back on a few years down the line and see it as a massively important role for your career?
I don’t know about my career, because I don’t know what I’m going to do, but yeah it’s really importantly. Firstly because it was a gorgeous experience, for a lot of reasons. After that, the movie has been well-received and I’m travelling a lot for the money, so it gives me a great opportunity. I didn’t know when I accepted it that it would be like that.

Is the travelling one of the perks to this job? Or does it get quite tiring?
To meet the public, and to hear and to see in the eyes of people after they see the movie, it’s something really strong to realise you did something that touched people. Or even if it didn’t touch people, it makes something happen. This film doesn’t leave anybody indifferent. I’m not saying the movie is touching everybody, but to travel with it and see the different reactions in the different countries is fascinating.

Of course you’re a model too – but was there always an intention to get into acting one day?
No. I went into acting because people asked me to. Of course I decided to continue and to go on with certain aspects. I never stopped modelling though, and since I did My Piece of the Pie I let it go to the back-burner a bit, because I could. I still want to do pictures because there are still some magazines who are giving the freedom to photographers, and not only showing clothes or jewellery.

It must be quite enjoyable to play Isabelle, because fashion is such a huge part of the modelling world, but yet Isabelle doesn’t really care much for fashion. Was that refreshing for you?
Yes. Also it was important because she doesn’t belong to a community through the clothes. You know, she’s from nowhere. To play with those clothes was good too, it was comfortable.

So finally, what’s next for you?
I did a short movie with a French director before François’ movie. Her name is Joan Chemla and she’s writing her first long movie, so I’m reading what she’s writing. It’s just a project, so I don’t know when it will be, maybe next year.

Jeune & Jolie is released on November 29, and you can read our review here.