Sexy and charming Adele Exarchopoulos: six best roles played by the French actress

The fantastic adventure film Animal Kingdom has been released on the big screens of Ukrainian cinemas. One of the main female roles in this movie, police officer Julia, was played by French actress Adele Exarchopoulos.

The sexy and charming Frenchwoman is known to our viewers for many films. It is worth mentioning six of her best works in such films, including The Life of Adele, The Orphan, Sybil, Wingwomen, Passages and Thieves. OBOZ.UA recommends watching them before going to the movies to see Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom

A wave of mutations is sweeping the world, turning ordinary people into animals. François does everything he can to save his wife, who has been affected by this mysterious phenomenon. As more and more new creatures appear around him, the protagonist and his 16-year-old son embark on a quest that will change their lives forever.

La vie d'Adèle, dir. by Abdelatif Kechiche (2013)

The story centers on a French high school student Adele. She is fond of literature, falls in love with a boy and faces the first manifestations of adulthood. On the way to her first date, she meets someone who will blow her mind, a girl with blue hair older than Adele, Emma (Lea Seydoux - 007: A Time to Die, The Grand Budapest Hotel). For the first time in the history of the Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d'Or (the main award of the event) was awarded not only to the director of the film but was shared between him and the two actresses who played the main roles. That year, Adele Exarcopoulos won awards at leading film awards and was recognized as the most promising actress at the César Awards. This film launched the young Frenchwoman's career.

Orphan/Orpheline, dir. by Arnaud de Pallière (2016)

The film portrait of a woman at different stages of life seems to be an attempt to combine four separate stories into one. In fact, the film's protagonist is one woman playing hide and seek, whether she is a 6-year-old girl or a grown-up lady.

Here, Adele plays 20-year-old Sandra, who meets grown men, big money, and the desire to steal it and disappear. The film premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival and competed for the Golden Duke at the Odesa International Film Festival.

Sibyl, dir. by Justine Triet (2019)

Before winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2023 for Anatomy of a Fall, director Justine Triet had already been in the main competition of the French festival. It was a film about a psychotherapist Sandra (Virginie Efira - "20 ans d'ecart", "Elle") who decides to quit the profession and return to writing. But the story of her new client, actress Margot, changes all her plans and draws her headlong into the whirlpool of filmmaking and the passions inside her.

Adele Exarcopoulos plays an actress on the verge of a crisis due to an unplanned pregnancy, fear of losing her role, and the secrets that fill her professional sphere.

Mandibles, dir. by Quentin Dupuis (2020)

The master of the absurd, Dupuis, has made a film about two men who unexpectedly, even for themselves, find a huge fly in the trunk of their car. Nothing better comes to their minds than the idea of training the insect as a monkey to rob a bank. By chance, the two slackers end up in the house of the rich, and when they recognize them as old friends, they look for a way to hide their third extra.

Adele plays the role of Agnes, a strange girl who, ever since hitting her head while skiing, speaks in a high-pitched and rather absurd tone. She says what she has seen and reveals the guests' main secrets.

Passages, dir. Ira Sachs (2023)

Thomas (Frantz Rogowski - Transit) and Martin (Ben Whishaw - The Perfumer) are a perfect pair of creative individuals and ideal lovers. They live in Paris in an apartment with a large library, plenty of freedom and strong feelings for each other. Everything changes when Thomas falls in love with a woman named Agatha and leaves his partner for a new conservative life.

The role of Agatha is sensual, yet very passionate. Adele Exarcopoulos managed to make not only director Ira Sachs (Frankie) and Franz Rogowski fall in love with her but also the audience at the Berlinale.

Voleuses, dir. by Mélanie Laurent (2023)

The new French comedy on Netflix is an ironic adventure about two elite thieves, Carol (Melanie Laurent - Inglourious Basterds) and her partner Alexa. Before retiring from thievery, the girls decide to complete one last task. Adele plays a loving woman who resents being dumped in a messenger, flirts with an arms dealer, and doesn't know life without stealing. So, her friend's suggestion to leave becomes the biggest challenge for her.