''Betty'' is a French

psychological drama Psychological drama or psychodrama is a sub-genre of drama that places emphasis on psychological elements. It often overlaps with other genres such as crime, fantasy, black comedy, and science fiction, and it is closely related with the psychologi ...

film directed by

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

based on the novel of the same title by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

. It was first released in France in 1992.

Plot

Betty (

Marie Trintignant Marie Trintignant (; 21 January 1962 – 1 August 2003) was a French film and stage actress. She appeared in over 30 movies during the span of her 36-year career. Her family was deeply involved in France's film industry, as her father was an acto ...

), a young alcoholic woman, is caught cold while cheating on her bourgeois husband. Wasting no time, he and his family arrange a quick divorce settlement, ousting her from home and keeping her away from the two children the couple have. One night she ends up in a restaurant called Le Trou (The Hole), where she meets Laure (

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French actress. She was known for her performances in award-winning films such as ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and ''Babette's Feast'' ...

), an older woman, an alcoholic herself. Laure decides to take care of Betty after hearing the heart-breaking stories of her being a victim of her husband's rich and ruthless high society family. Betty receives care and friendship from Laure, who's in a relationship with Mario ( Jean-Francois Garreaud), the restaurant's owner. Betty's envy toward Laure, especially regarding her relationship with Mario, grows each day and eventually drives Betty to contrive the means to conquer her new friend's lover. Laure realizes she has made a mistake by trusting Betty, and things soon begin to fall apart between them. Betty's true colors are now visible and she sees her life at a point of no return, as she has selfishly stomped on the last chance she had of being a better person.

Cast

- Betty Etamble *

- Laure *

Jean-François Garreaud Jean-François Garreaud (1 April 1946 – 9 July 2020) was a French actor. Biography Born to a father from Dordogne and a mother from Ardennes (department), Ardennes, Garreaud became an apprentice tiler at age fourteen. In 1968, he became an acco ...

- Mario * Yves Lambrecht - Guy Etamble * Christiane Minazzoli - Madame Etamble *

Pierre Vernier Pierre Vernier (19 August 1580 at Ornans, Franche-Comté (at that time ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs, now part of France) – 14 September 1637, same location) was a French mathematician and instrument-inventor. He was the inventor and epony ...

- Le médecin * - Frédéric *

Thomas Chabrol Thomas Chabrol (born 24 April 1963) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. Filmography On stage References External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chabrol, Thomas 1963 births 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male a ...

- Schwartz *

Yves Verhoeven Yves Verhoeven (born 27 October 1961) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than eighty films since 1989. Selected filmography References External links * 1961 births Living people French male film actors People from Seine-Mar ...

- Philippe

Reception

Journalist Lawrence O'Toole from

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

defined Marie Trintignant's performance as "smashing," but overall rated the film a B+. In the

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

Roger Ebert described the film as a story of intertwined surprises, a film that doesn't have a plot per se. The story is a chain reaction of events as this is the story of a woman who keeps tripping over her own faults and reckless behavior. Megan Rosenfeld, staff writer at The Washington Post, found Marie Trintignant's performance a tad empty aside from the contribution she gives to the movie through her beauty.) John Simon of the National Review in addition to praising the acting of Trintignant and Audran said "Betty is one of the most well-behavedly bone-chilling horror stories of all time".

References

External links

* 1990s French-language films 1990s psychological drama films French psychological drama films Films directed by Claude Chabrol Films based on works by Georges Simenon Films based on Belgian novels 1992 drama films 1992 films 1990s French films {{1990s-France-film-stub