I missed this one first time around if indeed it ever played in England and lately I've been buying some Chabrol dvds mostly titles he shot in the 70s so this was something of a natural choice. There aren't that many comments on this and some of them seem to let the violent death of Marie Trintignant influence their critical faculties. Whilst it's undeniable that Trintignant does appear as a slightly ethereal creature with eyes freighted heavily with sadness in this film it's probably better to see this as coincidence rather than forecast. Apart from ethereal there's also something UNreal about the entire situation. We're asked to accept the premise that a very attractive if not actually beautiful young woman would allow herself to drift through life letting life happen to HER rather than attempting to impose any order on it. Having married well and then taken a lover would she really invite him into her husband's family home for a quickie aware that the husband and his mother - who had gone to the theatre - could return at any moment (as indeed they do)and within the hour have a lawyer on the scene drafting an agreement whereby Betty forfeits all rights to see her children in return for a healthy check with further installments to come. Would she then, with several thousand francs in her handbag and the promise of regular monthly payments, become a hooker in all but name, being picked up indiscriminately by men in which she has little interest either fiscal or physical. While we're talking far-fetched why would an elderly man pick up women in Paris and drive them out to a seedy club in Versailles apart from providing an opportunity for Betty to encounter Laure (Stephane Audran), yet another wealthy person with a taste for the sleazy who decides to befriend Betty. Though you are aware of these inconsistencies it does not prevent you watching a highly watchable film and admiring the two central performances but it's not necessarily a film to which you would want to return.
Review of Betty
