(1992)
3.5
Richie Unterberger
More than once, Claude Chabrol's films have explored nuances of good and bad within the same characters, keeping the audience guessing as to where the protagonists stand. If his point is that they don't have easily defined moral positions, Betty is certainly a successful and piquant character study, though one that might not be enjoyed by viewers who find it difficult to watch films revolving around unsympathetic characters. Foremost among those here is Marie Trintignant in the title role, and while she spends much of the movie in a bedraggled, drunken state, the back-and-forth flashbacks also make clear that she was at other times in her life a passionate, promiscuous lover, a bored affluent housewife, and a naïve schoolgirl. At first, we do feel for Betty, cast out almost literally into the rain by a cold aristocratic family, rescued from further dissolution by a seemingly benevolent older protector, Laure (the coolly elegant and decadent Stéphane Audran). Yet they've almost switched roles by the end of the film, in a transition so subtle it might take you by surprise almost as much as it does Laure. The lines between pitiful victim and knowing bird of prey blur so much that the audience might feel as deceived by Betty's act as those around her are, though Chabrol also makes clear that others share some blame in driving her behavior. The fuzzily divided flashbacks do take a long time to unfold the incidents in the past that have driven Betty to her present state. But patient viewers are rewarded with an interesting portrait of psychological dysfunction, and one that's well-paced and finely acted despite the movie's nonlinear structure.
Betty on AllMovie
Betty (1992)
