You are here:

Two Pennies Worth of Violets

Name: Two Pennies Worth of Violets
Director: Jean Anouilh, Michel Boisrond
Released: 1951
Duration: 98 min

Representation Score

4.4/10

Fair

1951

K-16

Director

Jean Anouilh, Michel Boisrond

Runtime

98 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Two Pennies Worth of Violets is a character-driven drama that critiques societal norms. While it lacks racial and LGBTQ+ diversity, it offers a nuanced exploration of how broader social pressures affect personal freedom. The narrative goes beyond simple moral stories by showing a protagonist battling against a world designed to undermine her integrity. This focus on the individual versus the 'conspiracy' of respectability provides a sophisticated view of social structures. Ultimately, the film's strength lies in its challenge to traditional gender power dynamics and its deconstruction of middle-class morality, even within a historically homogeneous context.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Two Pennies Worth of Violets have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film does not depict non-straight relationships or same-sex intimacy. It follows a traditional love story focused on seduction and abandonment.

How does Two Pennies Worth of Violets portray gender?

Good

Thérèse challenges traditional gender roles by navigating a world that tries to limit her independence. The story highlights characters who exploit and abandon her, representing predatory masculine power.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Two Pennies Worth of Violets?

Limited

Set in 1951 France, the film seems to show a uniform population without multi-layered racial diversity or diverse casting norms.

How does Two Pennies Worth of Violets represent religion and culture?

Good

The film criticizes traditional social institutions and 'false respectability.' It portrays the family as a conspiracy rather than a supportive unit.

Does Two Pennies Worth of Violets include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no visible or mentioned depictions of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in the story.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional gender roles through a protagonist fighting for independence.
Offers a sophisticated critique of middle-class respectability and social institutions.
Explores complex power dynamics between individuals and exploitative social structures.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight experiences.
Shows a lack of racial and ethnic diversity within its historical setting.
Provides no visible depictions of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Thérèse, a young flower girl, tries hard to remain virtuous but the whole world seems to conspire against her, whether her petty Paris family, or her relatives in the province bristling with false respectability, or her lustful employer, or the boy she loves who seduces her and abandons her. But at the end of the day there is Yvon, her childhood friend. Will he be the one that will love her truly?

How are these scores produced? →