Marine Vacth holds our attention by giving little away. Her composure makes difficult, intimate scenes convincing; the limitation comes when a film expects a reserved woman to remain interesting simply because we cannot work her out.
Fi1m perspective
In Young & Beautiful (2013), Marine Vacth makes Isabelle's silence and distance from other people worth watching. She holds our attention without making the character easy to understand. That is useful in François Ozon's films about sexuality and identity, though we can stay curious about a woman and still struggle to care about her. We value Vacth's control, but her reserve can also leave a character's motives frustratingly unclear.
Her first screen role was Tessa in Cédric Klapisch's My Piece of the Pie (2011); the lead in Young & Beautiful was the breakthrough. Returning to Ozon for Double Lover (2017), she brought naturalism to a physically demanding erotic thriller. Intimate scenes do not seem to unsettle her, and that steadiness matters when a director is asking an actor to expose so much. Ozon is the clearest guide to what she does well, and to the risk of repeatedly casting her as someone whose thoughts we cannot quite reach.
Matteo Garrone's Pinocchio (2019), in which she plays the adult Fata Turchina, offers a different setting for that composed presence. We were moved by the wooden boy's vulnerable face and by Garrone's success in making his father someone worth worrying about. The creatures and performances make this an affecting fairy tale, even though the episodic storytelling needs firmer control. Vacth takes a supporting place here, and the film offers a worthwhile introduction to her work away from Ozon. It is worth seeing for the company she keeps, rather than as a test of everything she can do.
Her supporting role as Lilah in Maïwenn's family drama DNA (2020) broadens the picture; Margot in Nicolas Bedos's Masquerade (2022) brings her into a Riviera-set crime comedy-drama. Yet the limited writing of women in the latter points to a difficulty that changing genre cannot solve. An actor with Vacth's composure can hold our attention while the script neglects to give her much of a character. We would like to see more directors give her something to do besides keep us guessing.
Biography
Marine Vacth is a French actress and model. Born in Paris on 9 April 1991, she began modelling at the age of fifteen after being scouted in a store. She worked for brands including Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé and Chaumet before turning to acting.
Vacth made her screen debut in 2011 in Cédric Klapisch’s My Piece of the Pie. She gained wider recognition as Isabelle in François Ozon’s Young & Beautiful (2013), which was selected for competition at Cannes and earned her a César nomination for Most Promising Actress. She later appeared in Ozon’s Double Lover (2017) and played the adult Fata Turchina in Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio (2019). Other credits include What the Day Owes the Night (2012), Families (2015) and Masquerade (2022).
