Betty Blue [37°2 le matin] **** (1986, Béatrice Dalle, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Consuelo De Haviland, Gérard Darmond, Vincent Lindon) – Classic Movie Review 6,332

Jean-Jacques Beineix’s erotically charged, visually stylish 1986 French cinema landmark Betty Blue [37°2 le matin] offers Béatrice Dalle her best ever screen opportunity as volatile waitress Betty attracted to Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade). 

Writer/ director Jean-Jacques Beineix’s erotically charged Eighties French cinema landmark Betty Blue [37°2 le matin] offers Béatrice Dalle her best screen opportunity in his flamboyantly visually stylish film about the volatile waitress Betty, who is attracted to the odd-job handyman and would-be great writer Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade).

Dalle’s beauty, the burst of sweaty sex at the start, the wit in Beineix’s screenplay, Gabriel Yared’s score and cinematographer Jean-François Robin’s photography are the keys to this ultra sleek and smart 1986 international art-house success.

Also in the cast are Consuelo De Haviland, Gérard Darmond, Vincent Lindon, Clémentine Célarié, Jacques Mathou and Philippe Laudenbach, as well as Jean-Pierre Bisson, Dominique Pinon, Bernard Hug in the complete version.

Betty Blue was Oscar, Golden Globe and Bafta nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but didn’t win any of them.

The release version is 121 minutes but the Director’s Cut complete version runs 192 minutes.

Beineix’s screenplay is based on Philippe Djian‘s novel 37.2 Degrees Le Matin, which was also the original French title of the movie.

Jean-Hugues Anglade (born 29 July 1955) is known for The Wounded Man, Subway, Killing Zoe, La Reine Margot, Nelly and M Arnaud. Betty Blue and Nikita.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6.332

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