A Girl Cut in Two
A Girl Cut in Two (French: La Fille coupée en deux) is a 2007 French drama film directed by Claude Chabrol and starring Ludivine Sagnier, François Berléand, and Benoît Magimel. It tells the story of a naïve and affectionate girl who has disastrous relationships with two rich and influential men. One uses her as a sex object and abandons her, while the second marries her but proves lethally unbalanced. The film was released in France on 8 August 2007 and a limited release in the United States beginning on 15 August 2008.
| A Girl Cut in Two | |
|---|---|
 French poster | |
| Directed by | Claude Chabrol |
| Produced by | Patrick Godeau |
| Written by | Claude Chabrol Cecile Maistre |
| Starring | Ludivine Sagnier Benoît Magimel François Berléand |
| Music by | Matthieu Chabrol |
| Cinematography | Eduardo Serra |
| Edited by | Monique Fardoulis |
| Distributed by | Pan Europeenne |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $7.8 million[1] |
| Box office | $8.5 million[2] |
Plot
Gabrielle, a pretty but innocent young woman, lives with her mother in Lyon and works as a weather girl for the local TV station. She attracts the attention of two very different men. One is Paul, the heir to a pharmaceutical fortune, who is too arrogant and immature to interest her seriously. The other is Charles, a nationally known writer more than twice her age whose wife stays in their country house while he uses a flat in town. There he takes Gabrielle and teaches her the sexual arts, expanding them by visits to an exclusive sex club. Having enjoyed all her youthful passion, he disappears on an extended business trip. Gabrielle falls into a severe depression and her worried mother eventually lets Paul visit.
He takes Gabrielle for a holiday to Lisbon, in separate rooms, and there she agrees to marry him. His widowed mother is appalled and a pre-nuptial contract excludes Gabrielle from all the family wealth. Not wanting any future misunderstanding with the insecure and volatile Paul, on their honeymoon she tells him about the relationship with Charles. Back in Lyon they attend a grand gala dinner for charity hosted by Paul's mother. The principal speaker is Charles and, in front of the town's élite, Paul shoots him dead. He gets a lenient sentence of seven years in an institution, from where he divorces Gabrielle, leaving her penniless.
Back home with her mother and seriously depressed, her uncle comes up with a solution. He tours with a cheesy magic show and Gabrielle in a sexy outfit becomes the girl who is cut in two by a circular saw. A close-up reveals that her emotional pain is unrelieved.
Cast and roles
- Ludivine Sagnier - Gabrielle Aurore Deneige
- Benoît Magimel - Paul André Claude Gaudens
- François Berléand - Charles Denis, known as Charles Saint-Denis
- Mathilda May - Capucine Jamet
- Caroline Sihol - Geneviève Gaudens (credited as Caroline Silhol)
- Marie Bunel - Marie Deneige
- Valeria Cavalli - Dona Saint-Denis
- Étienne Chicot - Denis Deneige
- Edouard Baer - Edouard, the actor who is interviewed
- Jean-Marie Winling - Gérard Briançon
- Didier Bénureau - Philippe Le Riou
- Thomas Chabrol - Stéphane Lorbach, the lawyer
- Charley Fouquet - Eléonore Gaudens
- Hubert Saint-Macary - Bernard Violet
- Stéphane Debac - Antoine Volte
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to A Girl Cut in Two. |