Betrayal (2003)

I found BETRAYAL to be a fun B-movie thriller from director Mark L. Lester, the man who made the superlative COMMANDO back in the day. He's working with a much smaller budget here but the film is much better than its IMDb rating would have you think. It's essentially a road movie in which a mother and son get into difficulty with some drug dealers and decide to head off for a while, only to end up taking along a hitwoman hitchhiker being pursued by the mob.This film is on the cheesy side at times, but it's generally pretty well made and certainly fast-paced throughout. There's always some violent action in the form of shoot-outs going on to keep your mind occupied, and enough oddball characters to bring to mind movies such as TRUE ROMANCE. An ageing Erika Eleniak plays the protective mother while Julie du Page has a ball as the femme fatale. Elsewhere we get Louis Mandylor and Tom Wright reuniting after MARTIAL LAW alongside smaller parts for old-timers James Remar and Don Swayze. It's no masterpiece, but it did entertain me.

This film was a surprise because I came across it on the Lifetime Movie Network and watched a few minutes to kill some time before another program began and found myself entertained. First of all, what rescues this from being standard direct to video fare is the direction of action film helmer Mark L. Lester. In addition, the cast which includes James Remar and Adam Baldwin, has some underrated talent in it. Most surprising of all is the dynamic between Julie Le Page as the hit woman with the lam and former "Baywatch" babe, Erika Eleniak as a single mother with her troubled teenage son on road trip to her mother's place in Texas. Julie hits all the right notes as the manipulative, sociopathic hit woman who regards the unwitting mother and son as ride over the state lines with a stash of a million dollars. The female characters are strong, Julie, physically and Eleniak as the mother fighting for her son's life and makes the film very compelling. The road movie through the desert crime caper is nothing new nor original ("Thelma and Louise," anyone) but the performance of the sexy Le Page and the twist of ruthless hit woman teamed up with single mom trying to do the right thing brings a very interesting dichotomy to what could have been an otherwise forgettable film.

I was surprised that several reviewers rated this movie so poorly. I rented it because the concept of a "hitwoman" intrigued me. I honestly thought Jayne (Julie Du Page) was a convincingly evil, cat-like assassin. Sexy, seductive, and OOH so lethal. I was impressed by the talent of the "son" played by Jeremy Lelliot. It was amazing to see so young a boy be so believable in his role. I believe that Erika Eleniak could do a good job of acting if she were given a more challenging role. She shined in "Under Siege". I wish she could land a role that would give her something to live up to. There were some rather predictable parts but that is the nature of movies like this. The one part that made me laugh was a shoot-out where three bad guys with 12-gauge shotguns can't hit the person they are after. All three of them are blazing away but they only manage to take out light bulbs and a bunch of woodwork. That was lame. The director must not have fired a shotgun or he would have known that scene needed to be modified. Anyway, there is a story here, a mom struggling to save her son, cops trying to catch some bad guys and a teen boy stuck in the middle of it all. And in a few instances you don't know who is the good guy and who is the bad!!!

Spoilers ahead. Suburban single mom and her teenage son get entangled with a seductive mob hit woman, who is trying to run off with the mob boss's money. Features your usual assortment of corrupt cops and mob tough guys chasing our heroes and trying to get the money back. Sure, a routine plot, but this one is better than average, mostly because of superior acting. Erika Eleniak is totally adorable and convincing as the mother. She is no longer a sexy young thing, but it looks like middle age is really going to agree with her. Best acting honors though go to Jeremy Lelliot, who convincingly plays her son, and carries the film. This character is the hinge for most of the story's development, and a lesser actor in the role would have destroyed the movie.Oh, and of course there is as always one of those Baldwin guys in some role or other. The Baldwins ought to get their own union -- but they probably don't need it, as it already seems to be a rule in Hollywood that you need at least one Baldwin in every movie. Feh!Anyway, the dialogue and action really move this film along. Pleasant and diverting, good for an evening's entertainment.