BETTY FISHER AND OTHER
STORIES (UK) aka ALIAS BETTY (USA) aka
BETTY FISHER ET AUTRES HISTOIRES (France)

Year: 2001
USA: Wellspring Cinema
UK: Optimum Releasing
Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicole Garcia, Mathilde Seigner, Luck Mervil, Edouard Baer, Stephane Freiss, Yves Jacques, Alexis Chatrian, Roschdy Zem, Arthur Setbon, Michaël Abiteboul, Consuelo De Haviland, Pascal Bonitzer, Yves Verhoeven, Annie Mercier, Beatrice Agenin, Virginie Emane, François Roy
Director: Claude Miller
Country: France / Canada
Language: French (English subtitles)
USA: 101 mins
UK: 103 mins
UK Certificate: 15 contains some strong language and soft drug references
USA Release Date: 13 September 2002 (Limited Release - Los Angeles and New York)
UK Release Date: 14 June 2002

Synopsis

Betty Fisher (Sandrine Kiberlain) had a mixed-up childhood thanks to her over protective and troubled mother, but has managed to become a successful writer basing many of her novels on her own personal experiences. She has a young son, Joseph, with whom she has a very loving, happy relationship. But tragedy strikes when Betty's mother visits and Joseph falls from his bedroom window and dies. Then to make matter worse her mother kidnaps another child to replace Joseph.

As if to justify her actions Betty's mother explains the child is from a disadvantaged background and this is presented as probably good for the child as we learn that his real mother is verging on prostitution and that the people she surrounds herself with are also on the slippery slope. Betty also becomes so attached to the new child she can't return him to his real mother even though she knows it's wrong not to.

The movie then explores the characters' lives and their stories link up to a climax, with the situations leading up to one central time and place where the various characters' paths cross. We also see what happens to them after this point and what different paths they take, some good, some bad.