Gallic director
François Ozon's idiosyncratic
Ricky
represents an attempt to weld together two polar-opposite and seemingly
incompatible genres: kitchen-sink realistic drama and high-concept
Spielbergian fantasy. Loosely inspired by a
Rose Tremain short story, the tale opens on a council estate just east of Paris (in the Seine-et-Marne), where single mom Katie (
Alexandra Lamy)
ekes out a low-key and fairly miserable existence. She earns her keep
as a factory worker while glumly attempting to raise her seven-year-old
daughter, Lisa (
Mélusine Mayance), on the side.
