Patricia Betlmeyer is the main antagonist of Tim and Brandy's story in the 2014 American comedy-drama film Men, Women & Children, even though she isn't really evil, her actions emotionally harm her daughter under the delusion that she's protecting her from the "dangers" of technology, and eventually lead to the suicide attempt of Brandy's boyfriend, Tim.
She was portrayed by Jennifer Garner.
Men, Women & Children[]
Patricia Betlmeyer is the mother of Brandy Betlmeyer, an introvert teenage girl. Patricia is very concerned with the dangers of technology and in her free time she realizes awareness campaigns in her daughter's school and arranges group meetings with other parents to raise awareness, however her beliefs are highly conservative and her methods rather extreme and invasive. She is shown to be against selfies, social networks, videogames, etc.
Patricia's methods to "protect" her daughter include connecting a device to her computer that saves her activity online, including browsing history and online messages, which she checks every certain time, she also has acces to all her passwords and is seen having access to Brandy's personal computer to check her activities, Brandy's phone is also routed to Patricia's so she can monitor her social networks and online activity anywhere, plus she tracks Brandy's SIM card to know where she is at all times.
Brandy, however is seen to be rebel against her campaigns and has found some methods to escape from her mother's watch, she has a second SIM card which she often switches with the tracked one, she also has a secret Tumblr account.
Tim & Brandy[]
Tim Mooney is Brandy's classmate, he lives alone with his father, Kent, after his mother abandoned them to live in California, Tim used to be the star player in the school's football team, until he dropped it because he never actually enjoyed it, much to his father's, coach's, teammates and classmates despite.
Kent has distanced from his son since his decission, since they have never really bonded outside football, Tim gets bullied by his former teammates and it's now obsessed with a MMORPG and is shown to have signs off deppression, since he also beliefs that nothing trully matters, after investigating about Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. He meets Brandy and they quickly bond, however when Tim tries to message her, Patricia deletes his messages before Brandy can see them, when Tim confronts Brandy about this, she apologizes and explains the situation with her mother and trusts him with her Tumblr account.
Tim and Brandy become a couple and Brandy sneaks out of her mother's control to go hang out with him, despite their healthy relationship, Patricia begins to suspect, meanwhile at the school's cafeteria Tim's bullies throw an apple at Brandy and Tim defends her by beating up his former teammate, causing him to get suspended after a visit to the school's psychologist, who gives him antidepressants. Brandy goes visits him after school to thank him.
Patricia interferes[]
Tim finds out that his mother is getting re-married through facebook, however after he finds out, his mother blocks him, when he tells about it to the other players on his RPG, he recieves nothing but offensive comments. Meanwhile Patricia has found out about Brandy's Tumblr account, and has printed and read Brandy's conversations with Tim, she deletes everything from her computer and trashes her bedroom looking for more evidence, when Brandy finds out, Patricia tells her she changed all her passwords and confiscated her phone. Kent, concerned about his son, investigates his RPG and after witnessing all the offensive comments about Tim's mother, he decides to delete the account and the game, when he confronts Tim about it calling the game a waste of time, Tim gets mad at him, Tim tells Kent about his mother's wedding but that she doesn't want to hurt them, however, Kent tells himm she completely forgot about them, since she never talks to Tim, nor has a place for him in California, after arguing, Kent tells Tim he will be playing football next year, no matter what, Tim is left alone and sad on his room and seeks support and comfort in Brandy, but Patricia reads the messages in Brandy's phone and posing as her she claims she's bored of him and was never interested, she also tells him she'll block him if he ever texts her again. Despondant, Tim overdozes on his antidepressants, Brandy however was one step ahead of her mother and has already sneaked out to Tim's place, she and Kent find Tim unconscious and call for an ambulance, at the hospital Tim is saved and Patricia while searching for Brandy, found her at the hospital next to Tim, realizing what her actions have caused, in tears she decides to change her ways, she fixes up her daughter's room and unplugs the device from her computer.
