Alias Betty
This smooth and smart French thriller combines Robert Altman's style of juggling multiple storylines with Alfred Hitchcock's genius for psychological tension. After Betty Fisher (Sandrine Kiberlain) loses her son to an accident, her mentally unstable mother (Nicole Garcia) kidnaps a similar-looking boy from a poor neighborhood of Paris, setting in motion a kaleidoscope of stories involving the kidnapped boy's trashy mother (who doesn't particularly miss the child), her boyfriend (who becomes the prime suspect in the investigation), the kidnapped boy's possible father (a gigolo whose current paramour cuts off funds), and Betty's ex-husband (a reptilian writer who tries to blackmail Betty into resuming their relationship). Intricate and completely involving,Alias Betty(also calledBetty Fisher and Other Stories) is directed with consummate skill by Claude Miller. None of the actors try to make you like them, which makes this dazzling mix of difficult, foolish, and downright nasty people utterly fascinating.--Bret Fetzer