Girl cut in half

The host of the weather program on the local television channel, the young and attractive Gabriel Denezh ( Ludivine Sagnier ) lives with her mother, who works in a small bookstore. The famous writer Charles Saint-Denis ( Francois Berlean ), avoiding public attention, lives with his wife in the countryside near Lyon. Charles notices Gabrielle at a party after a television interview in connection with the release of his new book, and then meets her at the signing of his books in the store where her mother works. Charles gives Gabriel a copy of his book and invites him to auction together. The heiress of a local pharmaceutical company, playboy-rich Paul Godan ( Benoit Majimel ), coming into a bookstore, encounters Charles, then sees Gabrielle and invites her to dinner.

One of his friends tells Charles that his daughter is dating a man of Charles age and how he is dealing with this situation. In the meantime, Gabrielle leaves the restaurant and thanks Paul for lunch. He offers to give her a ride home, but she makes it clear that she lives nearby and will get on her scooter. Paul tells her that she is amazing. Gabrielle pulls away from him, saying that she likes him, but asks him not to put pressure on her. When she leaves on her bike, Paul expresses his displeasure at not getting what he wanted.

Gabriel goes to the auction with Charles, in which he purchases an illustrated book on erotica. He gives the book to Gabriel, saying that if she does not like to read, then he can see the pictures. They come to Charles's city apartment and have sex. Gabriel says that for him she is probably too inexperienced, but Charles promises to teach her everything. Then Gabrielle quickly gathers not to be late for work. She asks if they will see each other in the evening, but Charles replies that he is not a free person and has been married for 25 years, and also 30 years older than Gabriel. She makes it clear that this does not bother her, and after a quarrel, she throws a book at him and runs away.

On television, her boss Philip invites Gabrielle to a party where she meets Paul, who invites her to dance. Gabrielle realizes that she was at the party at the request of Paul, after which she apologizes and goes home. On the way, she and Paul, his friend Frank, are catching up with her. Paul is becoming increasingly persistent, literally grabbing her hand by the throat. Frank pulls Paul away from the girl, shocked by his rudeness. Some time later, Charles calls himself an idiot.

In the television studio, colleague Gabrielle offers her to try to get a new, more interesting work, to which she replies that it is up to the producer to decide. In the dressing room, Paul is waiting for her with a large bouquet of flowers. He apologizes for his behavior and says that he will help to help her with work, as he knows her boss well, but she asks him not to interfere. Gabrielle again says that she likes him, focusing on the word “like”. Suddenly, another bouquet with roses and a card “Come. Charles, ”and Gabriel immediately runs away. Paul angrily tears the card. Gabriel comes to Charles, he apologizes, after which they make love.

Charles gradually engages Gabriel in increasingly sophisticated sexual games. Gabrielle tells her mother about her affair with married Charles. Gabriel gets a talk show host.

In the restaurant, Paul has lunch with his mother, sisters and Frank. There Charles dines with his wife and girlfriend. Paul first arranges the scene at Charles's table, and then accuses his mother of maternal shortcomings, until she asks Frank to take him away.

Gabrielle is becoming more and more sexually relaxed, and Charles tells her that he loves her more than he ever loved anyone else. He leads her to a sex club to meet friends. It later turns out that Charles asked her to demonstrate sexual freedom with her friends to demonstrate her freedom. After that, Charles unexpectedly goes abroad (he says that he leaves for 4-5 days, and his wife says that for a month), then he changes the locks in the apartment and stops all contacts with Gabrielle. Gabrielle is shocked by this behavior of Charles; she lies motionless at home and does not react to anything. Mother decides to invite Paul.

Paul and Gabriel go to Lisbon. They spend time in bars, drink and quarrel. Gabriel tells him that they should be just friends. Enraged, Paul begins to scream that he no longer wants to see her. Then the drunk Gabrielle tells Paul that she will marry him.

Soon their engagement took place, which Charles learns from local news. At the fitting of a wedding dress, Charles comes to speak with Gabrielle. She says that she loves him and will not marry Paul if Charles leaves his wife. Charles disagrees, and she marries Paul.

Gabriel feels awkward at the Godan family home. During his honeymoon, Paul sees how tempted Gabrielle is in sex, which makes him jealous even more. He knows about her night in a sex club with Charles’s friends, and that Charles is impotent. Enraged, Paul threatens Gabriel with a pistol, then puts it to his head and pulls the hook, but the gun is not loaded.

Paul and Gabriel come to a charity dinner at which his mother is present. During Charles’s speech, Paul walks up to the stage and shoots Charles, according to him, for “corrupting my wife.”

Gabrielle is called to the investigator to testify about Charles and his sexual perversity. She refuses until the Godan family lawyer convinces her to speak with Paul’s mother. Mother tells her that Paul might have killed his older brother in the bathroom when Paul was three years old. After this, Gabriel tells the truth about Charles in court.

When she comes to visit Paul, who, thanks to her testimony, received only seven years in prison, he refuses her. When Gabrielle comes to Paul’s mother, she says that they just used her. That soon she will receive divorce documents from Paul and will not receive any money from Godanov. Gabrielle responds to Paul’s mother that he will keep the car that Paul gave her because she needs her.

The film ends with a scene in which Gabriel is cut in two and she reappears in her magical uncle magician's show.

• Ludivine Sagnier - Gabriel Aurora Money
• Benoit Magimel - Paul Andre Claude Godan
• Francois Berlean - Charles Saint-Denis
• Matilda May - Capusin Jame
• Carolyn Sio - Genevieve Godun
• Marie Bunel - Marie Money
• Valeria Cavalli - Dona Saint-Denis
• Etienne Chicot - Denis Money

• Girl cut in half on IMDB website  
• Girl cut in half on Allmovie site