Betrayed (1988)

"Debra Winger and Tom Berenger are simply magnificent" (Rex Reed, At the Movies) as mismatched lovers who try desperately to share each other's lives, but ultimately destroy each other's worlds, in this explosive film of unwavering "suspense, drive and power" (Newsweek). Whena controversial radio personality is brutally murdered by masked assassins, FBI undercover agent Cathy Weaver (Winger) finds herself drawn deep into America's heartland...and into a dangerous relationship with the prime suspect! Romantically attracted to the handsome widower (Berenger), Weaver is convinced of his innocence until she discovers his true natureand a shocking secret that threatenseverything she believes in. Torn between love and duty, Weaver is forced to make the most difficultdecision of her life: Will she betray the man she loves...or the country she's sworn to protect?

Eszterhas wrote himself into a corner with this one

An FBI agent (Debra Winger) on her first undercover assignment finds herself falling in love with the man whom she has been assigned to watch (Tom Berenger), a man suspected of being a white supremacist and a murderer.

Wow, this film is bad, but bad in a highly entertaining way. Written by Joe Eszterhas, the same writer who gave the film-going public such "classics" as "Jade" and "Showgirls", this film is overly-long, preachy and defies logic at every turn. Yes, of course a man would take his new girlfriend along on a murderous man-hunt after they've just met and then take her on vacation to a KKK camp. Isn't that normal? Actually, it wasn't the lapses in credibility that bothered me with this film. It was when he finally started to make sense that Eszterhas lost me. By essentially concluding that the problem of white supremacists is too big to ever completely stamp out, Eszterhas wrote himself into a corner, forcing the film to have a very weak and unsatisfying ending. In this case, Eszterhas should have paid heed to the vast number of war films that are out there. It might not be possible to show the winning of the war in a single movie, but if you show the winning of a single battle (which arguably he does, but not really), then people will go home happy.
December 22, 2008

Are You People Kidding?

This is not a 5 star film. And I have to agree with Acute Observer in finding this not realistic or believable in many aspects. As flawed as our government is I highly doubt that the FBI would allow a club that hunts young black men to continue on while they look for more evidence. And I found it impossible to believe that Debra Winger's character could continue to love Berenger after discovering that he was a racist murderer. This film is a guilty pleasure- albeit a wierd one. It plays more like a tv movie than a brilliant feature film. It is extremely dated and is written for a junior high or high school level of intellect. November 4, 2007

Well Made Movie but an Undeserved Assault on Middle America

The movie is well made, well acted with good pacing. One problem....am I the only one here who has noticed this trend out of Hollywood that would lead us to believe that there are no normal people out there? It has been an ongoing assault by the Hollywood left to make us believe that everyone is as narcissistic and dysfunctional as themselves and those who are being pandered to here......genuinely screwed up people who try and take comfort in the myth that they are normal because EVERYONE is just as bad........which is not the case.

We have the cliche ex-marine in middle America...church goer, lives with mom and her apple pies, goes to the fair, works the farm.....but at night he secretly hates black people and the government. Give me a friggin break.....these people are the exception....not the rule.

Maybe I'll make a movie about how all those "classy" people in Marin County, Cambridge, Vermont and Connecticut smile when they hear about another aborted baby or another soldier killed in combat because they think it is a little victory in their quest to make everyone as smart as they are......bet I'd be closer to the truth than this film. August 12, 2007

Drama About Domestic Terrorists

This film starts with an event based on a true crime. A talk radio show host in Denver was killed by an American Nazi. (This event inspired the "Talk Radio" play and film.) This film continues with scenes from a small town in a farming region. No mention of their economic status; are they losing dollars and population, small businesses, etc. Instead we see a small group of white racists who abduct a black man to hunt and kill him! This seems too exaggerated to believe. Federal agents are aware of this but don't want to act yet. Their agent is sent back to get more information. There are groups like that in some sparsely settled areas. The film doesn't explain what created them. It shows how some politicians try to use them for votes and contributions. No real names, of course.

The Federal agent meets to report to her higher ups. Then we see terrorists prepare to hold up a bank to raise money for their activities (based on real events). Most bank robberies are done by ordinary criminals who are not part of any group. (The FBI put an end to organized gangs that robbed banks in the 1940s.) This Federal agency doesn't interfere because they want more information on their aims (and their leaders). More terrorism is planned: dynamiting a courthouse, attacking a power station, etc. The terrorist plots here would keep this small group busy 24 hours a day! Kathy finds a secret list of "friends". This is quickly copied with a camera. The Federal agents need to know who this group will target so they can arrest them. Gary meets with the leader (who arrives in a helicopter!) And shows documents that say Kathy is a special investigator. Is Kathy being served up as a sacrifice? Gary and Kathy travel to Chicago, where an assassination is planned that will make Gary the fall guy. (Another Lee Harvey Oswald?) A second "lone gunman" shoots the politician in front of a building. Gary fails to shoot, and won't ever try this again.

Costa-Gavras gained world fame with his 1969 film "Z". A few years later his film about rebels in South America was popular. His later films have seemed mediocre. A better story might not have tried to cover so many details and plots as this film does; better pacing could help. The threat from domestic terrorism still needs a good film (e.g., Timothy McVeigh). Those who gave this film a high rating must love the images more than the facts.

A better film today would show the bad results from "NAFTA" and "Free Trade" in harming most Americans economically. But Hollywood would never allow a film about this "war on the middle class". The word `nafta' in Greek and Arabic refers to `petroleum'. NAFTA is a symbol for the policies designed for Big Oil. It is like George W. Bush calling his policy "Operation Iraqi Liberation".
December 9, 2006

hel(l) bound lady

Betrayed
Amazon.com
05april06

Berenger died for his love
Debra killed him in despair
of getting isolated
from community he belonged to
Berenger got absolved
in loving till death parted them
she got cheeky enough
to suck to daughter of man
she just murdered
.....
i see patriot americans
vs servants to system that's
gone overboard for outsiders
.....
if we make our own choices
who to love who to betray
the split personality
plays it from both ends April 5, 2006

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