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Alias Betty (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:51
Fresh:47
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: Alias Betty works both as a gripping thriller and as a precisely drawn character study.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: Director Claude Miller was a protégé of Francois Truffaut, and the French master's influence is clear in this low-key thriller, based on the novel THE TREE OF HANDS by Ruth Rendell. Betty (Sandrine... Director Claude Miller was a protégé of Francois Truffaut, and the French master's influence is clear in this low-key thriller, based on the novel THE TREE OF HANDS by Ruth Rendell. Betty (Sandrine Kiberlain), a reclusive best-selling author and mother of a young son, is having a hard enough time dealing with a visit from her eccentric and self-involved mother, Margot (Nicole Garcia), who suffers from a blood disorder that occasionally makes her violent. Betty has the scars from her childhood to prove it. When Betty's son is suddenly and tragically killed, Margot doesn't seem very sympathetic. This story is intertwined with the story of Carole (Mathilde Seigner of WITH A FRIEND LIKE HARRY), the neglectful and abusive mother of Jose (Alexis Chatrian), who is about the same age as Betty's son. When Margot, in a deranged effort to help her daughter, kidnaps Jose, Carole's good-natured African boyfriend, Francois (Luck Mervil) is a prime suspect, and goes looking for the real kidnapper to clear his name. Miller deftly weaves an engaging and suspenseful tale in which characters of different classes and cultures pass through each other's lives. While some of them behave atrociously, Miller never forgets their essential humanity. [More]
Starring: Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicole Garcia, Mathilde Seigner, Edouard Baer
Starring: Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicole Garcia, Mathilde Seigner, Edouard Baer, Stephane Freiss, Yves Jacques, Roschdy Zem, Luck Mervil, Alexis Chatrian, Arthur Setbon
Director: Claude Miller
Director: Claude Miller
Screenwriter: Claude Miller
Story: Ruth Rendell
Producer: Yves Marmion, Annie Miller
Composer: Francois Dompierre
Studio: Wellspring
Reviews for Alias Betty
Miller has crafted an intriguing story of maternal instincts and misguided acts of affection.
Mezcla de serie negra “a la francesa” con estudio sórdido sobre la maternidad, Betty Fisher posee la estructura cinematográfica que debe tener una película que entrecruza historias como si fueran piezas de un collage que, al final, se juntan.
A pleasant enough valentine to Rendell's The Tree of Hands, if a story that deals with child abuse and sexual obsession could be described in those terms.
Like a Tarantino movie with heart, Alias Betty is richly detailed, deftly executed and utterly absorbing.
This is pretty dicey material. But some unexpected zigs and zags help.
An ingenious and often harrowing look at damaged people and how families can offer either despair or consolation.
Miller is playing so free with emotions, and the fact that children are hostages to fortune, that he makes the audience hostage to his swaggering affectation of seriousness.
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