Original title: La bête
Bertrand Bonello’s head-spinning Henry James adaptation set in 1910 Paris, 2014 LA and an AI-controlled 2044 casts a dreamlike spell.
— From The Guardian’s review
The remainder of Lea’s nudography has a curious gap in it. In the first eight years (2006-2013), she averaged more than one nude scene per year. In the most recent three and a half years (counting 2024 as a half-year), she has again averaged more than one nude scene per year. All told, that amounts to 17 nude scenes in 11 1/2 years, a very prolific output.
But here’s the curiosity: from 2014 to 2020 – seven full years, corresponding approximately to her ages 29 through 35 – she did no nudity at all. Perhaps she was trying to get away from a reputation for nudity, perhaps she was striving for an image with more appeal to mass audiences, perhaps that period corresponded to events in her life, perhaps it was a coincidence. I don’t know.
In the films in bold below, she was nominated for a Cesar for her performance. (The Cesar is the French Academy Award.)
2006 – Mes Copines, AKA My Friends, AKA Girlfriends
2008 – La Belle Personne, AKA The Beautiful Person
2009 – Plein Sud, AKA Going South
2010 – Belle Epine, AKA Dear Prudence
2010 – Roses à crédit, AKA Roses on Credit
2010 – Robin Hood
2010 – Petit Tailleur, AKA Little Tailor
2012 – Les adieux à la reine; AKA Farewell, My Queen
2013 – Grand Central
2013 – La vie d’Adèle, AKA Blue is the Warmest Color
2021 – Tromperie, AKA Deception
2021 – The French Dispatch
2021 – The Story of My Wife; originally titled A feleségem története
2022 – Crimes of the Future
2022 – Un beau matin, AKA One Fine Morning
She really didn’t need to do any more nudity after “Blue is the Warmest Color.” It would’ve been a hell of a movie to go out on. There was some difficulty behind the scenes of that movie that may have influenced her. I also don’t doubt the massive attention the sex scene from the film received had an impact.
Heard her & Adele did NOT get along with the director on Blue Is…, may have something to do with her sabbatical from sex scenes — but if Wes Anderson talking her into basically being an art model for French Dispatch got her back in the game, more power to him!
It seems she was a fan of Wes Anderson’s work. When he showed her the role he was going to play and she would basically just be naked in the film, she accepted haha because she just wanted to be part of one of his films, even if it was just to appear naked.