In the late '80s, 'cinema du look' was the phrase given to a bunch of highly stylised films informed by pop promos, advertising and similar Americanisms. Critics tended to be sniffy about these 'movie' movies and, sadly, Jean-Jacques Beineix's chic, self-conscious tale of sex, creativity and madness - three digressive hours of it, in this director's cut - hardly proves them wrong. It's a spin on amour fou, with Betty (Béatrice Dalle), a waitress-cum-force-of-nature and her lover, Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade), going at it like love bunnies until she finds his notebooks, decides he's a genius and tries to get his novel a publisher. That's pretty much the gist of it, excepting a final stretch in which their fucking and free-spiritedness goes off the rails - and horribly so. Until then, you could get away with seeing Betty as a tale of obsession (sexual or otherwise) perpetuating itself; the last 30 minutes just tie it up in terrible clichés about women being expendable muses for men. True, Dalle, Anglade and Beineix work hard to ensure that there's never a dull moment, but it's all mugging for the camera. There's less than meets the eye here. No pun intended...
Technology
Entertainment
Music
Creative
Sport & Auto
- About Future
- Jobs
- PR
- Advertising
- Digital Future
- Privacy Policy
- Cookies Policy
- Terms & Conditions
- Subscriptions
- Investor Relations
- Contact Future
© Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.