Literature Network » Honore de Balzac

Defects of 'Bette' get mighty ugly.

Content courtesy of

From: The Boston Herald
Date: 19980626
Author:Verniere, James

"Cousin Bette."

Rated R. At the Kendall, Embassy and Nickelodeon cinemas.

1 1/2 stars

In Des McAnuff's appalling, perversely miscast adaptation of Honore de Balzac's "Cousin Bette," Jessica Lange plays - huh? - the ugly duckling. Set in 1840s Regency Paris, the film, like the novel, tells the story of a calculating spinster's attempt to wreak vengeance on other members of her family.

Lizbeth Fischer (Lange), known as Cousin Bette to one and all, is a former country bumpkin who always lived in the shadow of her supposedly smarter, prettier cousin and future ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Honore de Balzac

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.