Betty Fisher and Other Stories

Released Sep 13, 2002

1h 42m

Comedy

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

92%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

63%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Grieving after the death of her young son Joseph, novelist Betty Fisher (Sandrine Kiberlain) enters a dark depression. Hoping to bring her out of it, her mother Margot (Nicole Garcia) arranges to kidnap another child, Jose (Alexis Chatrian), to replace the son Betty lost. Although she knows it's wrong, Betty accepts Jose as her new son. Meanwhile, Jose's mother Carole (Mathilde Seigner) is looking for her son with the help of her boyfriend, Francois (Luck Mervil), and some of his cohorts.

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Critics Consensus

Alias Betty works both as a gripping thriller and as a precisely drawn character study.

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Ed Siegel

Boston Globe

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.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 14, 2003

Full Review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

Either a fascinating study of the relationship between mothers and their children or a disturbing story about sociopaths and their marks.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 29, 2002

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Matt Weitz

Dallas Morning News

Understated, elegant meditation on motherhood, obligation and coincidence, all wrapped up in the form of an urban thriller.

Rated: B

Dec 13, 2002

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Film Threat

Rated: 3.5/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 4, 2005

Full Review

Greg Muskewitz

eFilmCritic.com

Rated: 4/5

Apr 12, 2004

Full Review

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Audience Member

Muy buen entramado de historias y con personajes bien delineados. La frase de la maternidad es bastante buena.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

french crazyness, but still good.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

it sure is a bit crazy, but very good.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

When Betty's psychopath mother visits and Betty's son is accidentally killed, the crazy mother naturally kidnaps a lookalike to make up for it. Besides that the film offers subplots of the indifferent mother who loses her child, the men around her life, and police trying to solve the case. It has a pattern that I've seen in a few French films lately where it's mostly drama and yet comic moments happen from time to time. I enjoyed it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A lot of people didn't like this one eh? Hmmm..interesting. This is the French attempt at pulling off the multiple story lines intersecting into one. And I think it works.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent interlaced stories with some good characters and plenty of feeling.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

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Claude Miller

Director

Sandrine Kiberlain

Betty Fisher

Nicole Garcia

Margot Fisher

Mathilde Seigner

Carole

Luck Mervil

François Diembele

Édouard Baer

Alex Basato

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Synopsis

Grieving after the death of her young son Joseph, novelist Betty Fisher (Sandrine Kiberlain) enters a dark depression. Hoping to bring her out of it, her mother Margot (Nicole Garcia) arranges to kidnap another child, Jose (Alexis Chatrian), to replace the son Betty lost. Although she knows it's wrong, Betty accepts Jose as her new son. Meanwhile, Jose's mother Carole (Mathilde Seigner) is looking for her son with the help of her boyfriend, Francois (Luck Mervil), and some of his cohorts.

Director: Claude Miller
Producer: Yves Marmion, Annie Miller
Screenwriter: Claude Miller, Ruth Rendell
Distributor: Wellspring Cinema
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 2002, Original
Box Office (Gross USA): $206.4K
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, DTS, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)