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Juliette Binoche gives a committed performance as a journalist investigating teenage prostitution, but the salacious treatment of the subject matter teeters on the edge of voyeurism

Juliette Binoche gives it her considerable all in this otherwise dubious film, which purports to investigate the moral and emotional price of teenage prostitution. Binoche plays a women's magazine journalist working on an article about said subject, which essentially involves long, elaborate conversations with two such student-age sex workers, played by Anaïs Demoustier and Joanna Kulig. Both are estimable young actors – Demoustier played the lead in the excellent French indie Living on Love Alone while Kulig appears alongside Ethan Hawke in the upcoming The Woman in the Fifth – but they are poorly served by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska, who has concocted a fable that comes across more like a cable-tv softcore fantasy than a rigorous study of its subject.

Binoche, though, rises above the...

Juliette Binoche gives a committed performance as a journalist investigating teenage prostitution, but the salacious treatment of the subject matter teeters on the edge of voyeurism

Juliette Binoche gives it her considerable all in this otherwise dubious film, which purports to investigate the moral and emotional price of teenage prostitution. Binoche plays a women's magazine journalist working on an article about said subject, which essentially involves long, elaborate conversations with two such student-age sex workers, played by Anaïs Demoustier and Joanna Kulig. Both are estimable young actors – Demoustier played the lead in the excellent French indie Living on Love Alone while Kulig appears alongside Ethan Hawke in the upcoming The Woman in the Fifth – but they are poorly served by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska, who has concocted a fable that comes across more like a cable-tv softcore fantasy than a rigorous study of its subject.

Binoche, though, rises above the...

From today through February 1, we're partnering with the My French Film Festival to show you ten recently released French features (first and second films) and ten French shorts. Presented by Unifrance, the festival invites you to award points to the films you like at the main site — and these points count, as six prizes will be awarded (three for features, three for shorts): the Internet Users Prize, Social Networks Prize and International Press Prize.

Outside of both competitions, we've also got a few extra presentations. The online festival was a hit around the world last year and you won't want to miss this second edition.

A few quick notes on the films, starting with the features:

Rebecca Zlotowski's Belle épine (Dear Prudence), winner of the prestigious Prix Louis Delluc for Best First Film, is "closer to a sobering character study than a classical youth film," finds Chris Cabin in Slant.

Black Swan (15)

(Darren Aronofsky, 2010, Us) Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel. 108 mins

Another tale of driven professionalism to go with Aronofsky's The Wrestler, but this goes further and gets away with more, whipping a tale of theatrical ambition into a delirious, hallucinogenic melodrama. Portman is superb as the brittle ballerina facing up to her nightmares when she lands her dream role, and between the punishing routines, her monstrous mother (Barbara Hershey) and the fever of performance, we're swept away.

Neds (18)

(Peter Mullan, 2010, UK/Fra/Ita) Conor McCarron, Martin Bell, Linda Cuthbert. 134 mins

Mullan turns his memories of 1970s Glasgow into a muscular yet compassionate youth drama. McCarron is outstanding as a bright boy whose promise is warped by brutal conditions in and out of school.

Morning Glory (12A)

(Roger Michell, 2010, Us) Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton. 107 mins

McAdams delights and Ford grouches in a breakfast TV comedy that is...

In the first of his columns from the London Film Festival, Michael reports back with five movies worthy of your attention...

Blogging from a festival is a daunting task. The London Film Festival is a massive deal, at least from a raw numbers point of view. With the late additions to the bill, it comes to over 200 films, in just over two weeks of screenings.

Making sense of it all is made easier by spotting threads, be it thematic, national or topical, and these columns are spinning out of that thinking. I was surprised by how immediately the connections presented themselves. It's silly, really, as this is a pretty well curated amalgam of cinema.

Within the first week of previews, I was blindsided by a selection of films that, you could say, strayed a little close to home. They featured young adults, that key demographic that sits in between maturity and middle age,...