Suzanne Lindon’s debut skirts the line between schoolgirl crush and exploitation as it charts her romance with an older man, while neatly avoiding cliché
How much does our appreciation of a film depend on our knowledge of the film-maker? The question is difficult to avoid with this tale of a 16-year-old schoolgirl who develops a relationship with an older man. It was made by its star, Suzanne Lindon, who wrote it when she was 15 and directed it when she was 20. Lindon is also the daughter of French actors Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain, which some might perceive as a bit of a head start, but she certainly holds her own here.
Lindon plays “Suzanne”, a student from a loving, affluent Parisian family (in appearance she resembles a young Charlotte Gainsbourg). She doesn’t lack
Friends, but she is bored with her immature peer group. On her walk to school every day she starts to notice Raphaël (Arnaud Valois), a handsome, 35-year-old
Actor performing at the local theatre. He also seems bored. Suzanne becomes curious, and the two draw closer. As much as Suzanne is mature beyond her years, Raphael seems somewhat immature – even ordering the same sugary soft drink as her at cafes. Is it possible for these two to meet somewhere in the middle?