Bijou shoots for the hip

Bijou Phillips does a hard urban act both on and off screen. In Larry Kids Clark's tough film Bully , she plays sometime teenage prostitute Ali Willis. The movie is based on a teenage-on-teenage murder in 1993 in Florida.

In real life Bijou's chic, sharp and mixes downtown lip with ice-cool attitude. It's an attitude she's been building for years - she's 22 in April. Her parents were John Phillips, founder of Sixties band The Mamas And The Papas, and singer/songwriter Genevi?ve Wa?te. She's a half-sister to actress Mackenzie Phillips and singer Chynna Phillips, from group Wilson Phillips.

'People think Bully is about loss of innocence, but in America a lot of kids lost their innocence long before they were teenagers,' comments Phillips in a surprisingly baby-toned voice. 'We're not talking cheerleaders here, but the kids who are isolated and angry and have so little respect for their own lives that murder is not a big deal.'

Shootings - such as the incident three years ago at the Columbine School in Colorado - have become more common. 'More kids are killing other kids. It's a part of our society, and happening all over the place, not just in dark alley life, but in the insulated middle-classes too.

'We tried to shoot the film quickly, like it was real life - but I came away with a dark energy in me, something self-destructive and angry. I needed to get away, ride horses, think nice thoughts and breathe fresh air - detoxify, chill out, become a kid and grow up again.'

Phillips lost her innocence way back. At 14, she was modelling in Manhattan and went on to become a cover girl. At 18, having written a bunch of songs, she cut a rock album, entitled I'd Rather Eat Glass, and then began making movies, starting with James Toback's Black And White and more recently Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. 'I'm not an actress, I'm just being me, whoever that is,' she says. 'And it's not a big deal!'