As you may have read leading up to TIFF, Cara Delevingne was on my TIFF 2014 Watch List. I thought she’d be drama. I thought she’d light up the party scene. I thought maybe she’d tear up a few parties. I was right. And I was wrong. She deserved to be on the Watch List. She totally delivered. But the way she did it was not by being a sh-t disturber but instead, first, by actually showing some acting skill and then by being just really, really likeable.

I screened The Face Of An Angel on Friday night. Wasn’t my favourite. But this was my tweet right after:  

What I’ve learned so far this festival: Cara Delevingne can act.

Have to say I didn’t expect it. I thought maybe she was cast because, well, because. The usual reasons. That may have been the case initially but director Michael Winterbottom would have realised, quite quickly, that she’s a natural. I believed every single line. I believed every smile. And you can’t take your eyes off her. Yeah, sure, she’s a model, that’s hardly surprising. But it’s more than that. It’s also a certain energy, charisma, the intangible “It”. I talked about it afterwards with a couple of proper movie critics. They felt it too – maybe not as obsessively as I did, but it’s undeniable, Cara’s appeal. She was the standout in an otherwise underwhelming effort.

So I totally got it. I totally got why Cara Delevingne is a thing now. And then I interviewed her, with Sasha producing.

Let’s start with the outfit. Sick pantsuit with a steezy hang over a sheer lace undershirt and adorable kicks. The first thing she said when she walked into our etalk TIFF lounge was something about poo. I fell in love. There is no awkwardness about Cara Delevingne. She’s just herself, always, from minute one. This is basically her personality:

Loose, easy, playful, fun, funny… and NICE. You expect the posh, wild, young British girl who has everything to be too cool and over it, over everything. Or uncomfortable and Kristen Stewart-ish. Instead she’s open-eyed and exuberant, thoughtful when she speaks but at the same time, completely unrehearsed, not self-conscious, not stuck inside her own head. Almost…trusting. Like a little girl. She doesn’t bother pretending otherwise. And, therefore, totally unafraid. That’s what it is. There’s just no fear about Cara Delevingne. And when you don’t have to be scared, there’s no reason to be mean. Perhaps that’s the advantage of her background, her genes. Whatever the reason for it, it’s potently attractive. Her vibe is irresistible. You want to drink it. Sasha described it like this when it was over and she’d left us and we were replaying our Cara moments to the rest of our team:

“She made me feel…free.”

Said with an eye-roll but …you know…not really. On her way out, at the elevator, she was talking about farting, and right at Kate Beckinsale who could not have been more opposite. I mean, she had me already but that put a lock on it.

As for the drama and the trouble – none that I know of. And she didn’t stay to party either. Took off on Sunday right after all her commitments were complete.