Betty Fisher et autres histoires (2001)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Claude Miller

Writers:

Claude Miller (writer)
Ruth Rendell (novel)

Release Date:

13 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Crimes of passion are not always between lovers.

Plot:

Grieving after the death of her young son Joseph, novelist Betty Fisher enters a dark depression. Hoping to bring her out of it...

Plot Keywords:

Death | Criminal | Novelist | Depression | Foreign Language Adaptation

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Sandrine Kiberlain	...	Betty Fisher
Nicole Garcia	...	Margot Fisher
Mathilde Seigner	...	Carole Novacki
Luck Mervil	...	François Diembele
Edouard Baer	...	Alex Basato (as Édouard Baer)
Stéphane Freiss	...	Edouard
Yves Jacques	...	René the Canadian
Roschdy Zem	...	Dr. Jerome Castang
Consuelo De Haviland	...	Madame Barsky
Yves Verhoeven	...	Martinaud
Annie Mercier	...	Jacqueline
Alexis Chatrian	...	Jose Novacki
Enzo Crebessegues	...	Child
Arthur Setbon	...	Joseph Fisher
Réva Rothstein	...	Child

Also Known As:

Alias Betty (USA)
Betty Fisher and Other Stories (International: English title)
L'histoire de Betty Fisher (France) (working title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

France | Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

In the scene in which Alex goes to the bookshelf and pulls down a book in which some money is hidden, all the books on that shelf are by Ruth Rendell, who wrote the book this film was based on. The cover of the French version of that book, entitled 'Jeux des Mains', is prominently displayed when he pulls down the book.

Movie Connections:

Version of Tree of Hands (1989)

Fine rendering of the Rendell work.

When he's at his best,that is to say when his movies deal with childhood/parenthood ("la classse de neige) or the difficult passage from adolescence to adult age ("la meilleure façon de marcher" ,his towering achievement,and "l'effrontée"),Claude Miller makes really strong films.

Whereas his adaptation of Patricia Highsmith ("this sweet sickness" aka "dites-lui que je l'aime")was downright disappointing ,his foray into Ruth Rendell is highly successful.First of all,this novel was tailor-made for him:it's a movie about monstrous love,self-love for the grandmother (a never better Nicole Garcia),painful love for the young mother(Kimberlain) ,absence of love for Seigner's character in a story revolving around children.

Rendell's novels are very complex,involving many characters ,who brush against one another more than they meet ;sometimes,it takes a long time before we know the connection between them.But Miller succeeds brilliantly in his adaptation :he devotes each character a "chapter"

(hence the title) "Betty's story" "Joseph's story" etc.In Rendell's work ,like in Highsmith's ,the frontier between the "culprits" and the "innocents" is very vague and we never know which ones will get away.

Minor critic: the actor playing Alex is not very credible because he's not really the looks of a gigolo.