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“The Betrayed”-(Chris)
Reviewer:
Chris Pandolfi
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment
Genre:
Drama
Release Date:
6/30/09
Special Features:

Additional trailers

Review:

“The Betrayed” is painfully unconvincing, which is a shame since it’s a cross between a psychological thriller and a heist caper--inherently entertaining genres, if you ask me. The story is built on a mystery that seems oddly bland. ***

Maybe it has something to do with the characters, all surprisingly flat considering the extreme circumstances they find themselves in. A mystery requires more than a clever structure for it to work; the actors must engage the material, make us believe that they’re actually in the middle of an extraordinary sequence of events. I never got that feeling from anyone attached to “The Betrayed.” There was no sense of urgency or desperation, but there was a sense of apathy. They seemed monotone, as if they genuinely had no interest in the screenplay. ***

It doesn’t help that the structure really wasn’t all that clever. If anything, it was perfectly straightforward, having virtually nothing for the audience to guess at along the way. There isn’t even an attempt at a plot twist. While I agree that some twists can be too over the top for their own good, a surprise or two can be very satisfying. I don’t know what writer/director Amanda Gusack was aiming for, but it certainly wasn’t satisfaction. ***

How do I describe the plot of this movie without revealing too much? A woman named Jamie Taylor (Melissa George) awakens on the floor of a dank warehouse with dirty windows, rusty pipes, and a showerhead affixed to the ceiling. Her ribs are bruised. She’s in a drugged fog. The last she remembers, she was driving to the airport to pick up her husband; she was sideswiped, causing her to lose control of her car and crash. ***

As she remembers this, a silhouette appears at the chamber door. A man’s voice then comes through an intercom system. “Where were you meeting your husband on Wednesday?” he keeps asking her. She has no idea what he means by that; all she’s concerned with are the whereabouts of her young son, who was in the car with her when it crashed. *** Eventually, the man opens the door and begins talking to Jamie in person. His name is Alek (Oded Fehr), and he keeps his face hidden from Jamie with a black hood, almost giving him the look of a Mexican wrestler. He tells her that her husband isn’t who he seems to be; he’s actually part of a crime syndicate led by an elusive figure known as Falco, and he owes them quite a bit of money. ***

Not true, says Jamie. She and Kevin have been married for six years. They own a restaurant, and they just took out a third mortgage to pay the bills. They don’t have the kind of money Alek is talking about. Alek goes on to explain that absolutely everything Jamie has known--the financial struggles, the birth of their son, the going into business for themselves--it has all been part of front for Kevin to appear normal. ***

Alek also says that their house has been bugged the entire time, and everything that was said within it has been recorded. Knowing that gangsters of this caliber constantly speak in code, Alek orders Jamie to listen to boxes of audiocassettes and discover where and when the money was hidden. But she must hurry; the life of her diabetic son, Michael (Connor Christopher Levins), is on the line. ***

To describe any more of the plot would be too risky. Needless to say, more is revealed about Kevin (Christian Campbell), who we see almost exclusively in flashback sequences. That’s part of the problem: How much of a threat can he really be if we only have flashbacks to go by? There’s no sense of conflict, and that’s because he isn’t there to create any. That job is reserved for Alek, who seems so detached that it’s very difficult to believe him, even when he forces his thumb into Jamie’s bruise. ***

They gradually form an alliance of sorts, although I’m hard pressed to say that I thought it plausible. Even less plausible was George’s performance; never once did I believe her as a desperate woman in a desperate situation. She spouts words of love and concern for her son, although her deadpan expression and lackluster attitude suggest otherwise. ***

The long and short of it is that “The Betrayed” is well-intentioned but unsuccessful film. We go into it expecting to be thrilled, and then we go out of it feeling very let down. It doesn’t even work as a psychological drama, not even with a performance from Donald Adams as Alek’s tightly wound right hand man. ***

Special Features:

Other than trailers for other films, there are no special features on this DVD. The film is presented in its original 1.78:1 widescreen format and features Dolby 5.1 Digital sound.

Final Words:

Pretty much the only thing I can give it credit for is creating the right atmosphere. Cinematographer Roger Vernon and production designer Geoff Wallace effectively evoke that gritty, visceral sense of alienation that can only come from being locked in a large, dirty warehouse chamber. But more often than not, a film’s look doesn’t mean a great deal if a convincing story isn’t being told.

 

 
 
 
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