Betrayal (2003)

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Yes, Betrayal is a B-thriller. Though, the opening sequences hint a sort of 80s made-for-TV movie quality, which this movie might've done better as. That, or, if the writing had been strong enough, a psychopath exploitation movie of the 60s and 70s. Instead, Betrayal is poorly written, and at times, poorly acted.Here, the stories of two groups of people collide. On the one hand is the seductive Jayne, a ruthless hit-woman who settles a contract for a mob boss, but then decides to run off with money meet her partner somewhere in Texas. She's quick with a gun and has a "nuclear weapon between her legs," so the henchmen have no easy task ahead of them trying to get to her. On the other hand, you have a seemingly quaint mother and teen son who are heavily in debt. So, the bonehead son (and this is not his first of flubs), having connections to street thugs, decides to help his mother by delivering some cocaine for a gangster. Only, he is jumped and the stash is stolen. And the gangster thinks that the son tried to rip him off (though, other than a drive-by shooting, he doesn't seem convinced enough to stick around looking for him). So his mother decides that now, they have to flee to Texas to stay with her mother. So of course, they cross paths with Jayne who concocts a story so she can hitch a ride with them. And now they have mafia, crooked cops, and the FBI on their tail... the chase is on.Only, despite the forced meeting of the characters, the movie might've been more enjoyable B-movie fare if the events transpired in a more believable way. Given, the scenes between the mother and son at the train station, you'd think it was just another day they were going to visit grandma rather than the necessity to flee from a gangster looking for his stash of cocaine. There are also several opportunities for them to escape from Jayne just as there are opportunities for the hit men to kill Jayne. As the movie progresses, things proceed almost haphazardly as though it were a light dress rehearsal. In absence of the budget for greater action sequences like chase scenes and the like, the writing should have at least been much stronger.

BETRAYAL is terrific little crime actioner, a Mark Lester job, that entertains from beginning to end. A lethal lady, played by sexy Parisian actress Julie Du Page, is on the run with a million bucks of mob money. Several people, including a police detective played by Adam Baldwin of SERENITY fame, are hot on her trail. She ends up in the company of a mom (the luscious Erica Eleniak) and her teenage son (Jeremy Lelliott), and all hell breaks loose when the son finds the money. Plenty of people die, there are some car chases, and the ending features a decent cat fight between the two Eleniak and Du Page. I am with those who think Eleniak deserves better roles than she normally gets, but better she is working than not at all. "B" movie stalwart James Remar plays an FBI agent who hooks up with Eleniak, although he is given little to do. The focus is on the two extremely beautiful women, which was fine with me. Du Page has a shower scene, guys.

"Lady Jayne:Killer" is a bottom of the barrel B-flick from the get go. You only have to scan the roster to see the personnel are a bunch of B-listers and maybe seeing ex-Playmate Eleniak get naked is the most one can hope for. Unfortunately, this lame flick doesn't even deliver a little gratuitous T&A as it limps along though its trite and cliche-ridden story about a beautiful hitwoman, a bunch of money, and a broke mom and son destined for a showdown. Pretty awful stuff not worth the time. (D+)

As thrillers go, there are a few surprises here. For awhile the film seems as though it might go in an interesting unexpected direction before it heads back into standard thriller mode. Had the main protagonists been male, the story would have been too obvious. Putting women in the "tough guy" leads made a nice variation. Still, you cannot expect too much. Once the final chase starts, it's all more or less by the numbers.The music tries very hard to add tension where there isn't any. The pacing tends towards slow. The story has more than enough holes in it. The acting is okay, but not inspiring. With almost no nudity and no steamy love story it is definitely not an "erotic thriller". The entire production value is equal to the average cable channel movie of the week.Neither it's theatrical title (Betrayal) or it's DVD title (Lady Jayne: Killer) really fit. It's not a bad film, but I couldn't recommend it. Still, I spent 90 minutes watching it, maybe you'd like to do the same.