The Disenchanted (La Désenchantée)

REVIEW
Slight but not uninteresting, The Disenchanted concerns the 17-year-old Beth (Godreche) as she grapples with her sexuality. This sparse but not entirely revealing character study opens with Beth's boyfriend challenging her to sleep with ugly men, and ends with Beth being the unwilling object of a sugar daddy's attention. In between, she meets A.D. (Bozonnet), a potential suitor who forces her to reevaluate her feelings and goals in life. Writer-director Jacquot deliberately keeps the drama subtle, but the tension is often quite palpable. There is just enough harsh reality to make Beth sympathetic, but she is also a not very likable heroine. The lovely Godreche gives a finely nuanced performance, but the film is detached and uninvolving, and this moodiness casts a pall over the entire film. (French with English subtitles)