Nude Celebs: Francis Barber - Arnaud Desplechin's psychological period film stars Summer Phoenix as Esther, a young woman whose cramped and compromised youth has left her cold and distant, unable to express emotion. When she attends a popular theater production, however, Esther is thunderstruck by the deep feelings the performance stirs within her. She immediately sets out to become an actress and learns some valuable (albeit hard) life lessons along the way to success.