Character Relationship Map: Pretty Things

Characters

• Marie / Lucie (played by Marion Cotillard) — protagonist

  Marie is a young provincial woman who travels to Paris seeking success as an actress and performer. After Lucie disappears amid police involvement, Marie adopts her sister’s identity, using Lucie’s co...

• Nicolas (played by Stomy Bugsy) — supporting

  Nicolas is connected to Lucie’s music career and works with Marie / Lucie after she begins presenting herself as Lucie. He collaborates with Jacques on songs and the possibility of a record, becoming...

• Jacques (played by Patrick Bruel) — supporting

  Jacques participates in the music project built around Lucie’s identity after Marie / Lucie takes her sister’s place. Together with Nicolas, he works on songs and a possible record, helping advance Ma...

• Sébastien (played by Titoff) — supporting

  Sébastien is recently released from prison and returns believing he is meeting Lucie. His visit exposes a hidden betrayal: Marie / Lucie discovers that he had been sleeping with her sister. By mistaki...

• Steve (played by Tony Amoni) — supporting

  Steve remains connected to Lucie’s professional and social world while Marie / Lucie begins using her sister’s identity. His presence reflects the network of contacts and admirers that Marie inherits...

• Martin (played by Matthieu Touboul) — supporting

  Martin is involved in the dispute over how to respond when Lucie’s old cassette or film is commercially exploited. He and others debate canceling a concert, holding a press conference, or using the sc...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Jacques → Martin (Professional Project Associate) — They occupy different roles within the same threatened music venture.

  Jacques contributes to the possible record, while Martin is involved in the debate over the concert and album publicity.

• Nicolas → Martin (Professional Project Associate) — Both are connected to the music project and its public presentation.

  Nicolas works on the songs and possible record, while Martin participates in decisions about the concert and album promotion.

• Steve → Marie / Lucie (Professional Associate) — Steve belongs to the network surrounding Lucie's public and professional identity.

  Steve remains connected to Lucie's professional and social world.

• Sébastien → Marie / Lucie (Romantic Former Sexual Partner) — Sébastien had an intimate relationship with Lucie before visiting Marie / Lucie.

  Marie / Lucie discovers that Sébastien had been sleeping with her sister Lucie.

• Marie / Lucie → Martin (Professional Career Strategist) — Martin is involved in decisions governing the public and commercial response to the scandal.

  Martin participates in discussions about cancelling the concert, holding a press conference, or using the scandal to promote the album.

• Marie / Lucie → Steve (Professional Connection) — Steve links Marie / Lucie's assumed public identity to Lucie's existing network.

  Steve remains connected to Lucie's professional and social world while Marie / Lucie presents herself as Lucie.

• Marie / Lucie → Jacques (Professional Songwriting Collaborator) — Jacques participates in the professional project built around Marie / Lucie's assumed identity.

  Marie / Lucie works with Jacques and Nicolas on songs and a possible record.

• Marie / Lucie → Nicolas (Professional Songwriting Collaborator) — Nicolas becomes an important collaborator in Marie / Lucie's attempted music career.

  After adopting Lucie's identity, Marie / Lucie works with Nicolas on songs and a possible record.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Nicolas → Jacques (Alliance Creative Partners) — They function as collaborators within the music project.

  Nicolas and Jacques work together with Marie / Lucie on songs and a possible record.

Story Analysis

A young woman uses her missing sister's identity to pursue success, while commercial exploitation and hidden betrayals threaten to expose her.

Plot Progression

1. A Provincial Escape — Marie / Lucie leaves home for Paris because she believes her life has no future. She enters nightlife and encounters rejection, humiliation, and the treatment of her body as a commodity.
2. The Borrowed Identity — Lucie's disappearance creates an opportunity for Marie to escape poverty through her sister's identity. She begins presenting herself as Lucie and gains access to existing contacts and admirers.
3. Success Under Suspicion — Marie / Lucie works with Nicolas and Jacques on music while Steve remains connected to Lucie's world. Sébastien's return exposes the personal danger of the deception and reveals another betrayal.
4. The Image Exploited — Concerts, modeling, and filmed sexual material appear to advance the career, but the promised record deal is fraudulent. Old material about Lucie's past is commercially exploited, and lawyers explain...
5. Defiance in Public — Martin and the others debate cancellation, a press conference, or scandal-based promotion. Marie / Lucie refuses to hide and insists that the concert continue despite the threat to her borrowed identi...