The Betrayed

A woman named Jamie (Melissa George) wakes up on the cold floor of a warehouse, wondering how she got there and why. A mysterious man (Oded Fehr) begins interrogating Jamie, using intimidation, violence, and a twisted sort of "kindness" to extract information.

This setup works well for about the first third of the film. Then, when neither the scenery nor the conversation seems to change at all, it gets a bit tedious.

Not only is this film's modicum of action limited to the warehouse, but most of it takes place in a single, small room. While this does add a bit of a claustrophobic atmosphere, it also makes things static, which would have been more effective in smaller doses.

Ms. George is as strong as ever, and Fehr comes off as genuinely menacing. During the final 20 minutes or so, Alice Krige makes her appearance and things pick up considerably.

So, though it tends to drag in the middle, the rest is pretty good...

After a car accident with an apparent hit and run, Jamie (Melissa George) finds trapped in a warehouse without her diabetic son Michael (Connor Levins) that is missing. Soon her captor named Alek (Oded Fehr) comes to the room wearing a mask and explains to Jamie that her married life had been an entire lie and her husband Kevin (Christian Campbell) had stolen forty million-dollars from his cruel boss Falco (Alice Krige) and three other drug lords from the crime syndicate. The reluctant Jaime does not believe in his words and asks him to prove that Michael is alive. Alek shows audio tapes of Michael and then from her house that has been bugged since she married Kevin. Further, he tells that if Jaime does not find any lead to the stolen money he will kill Michael and her. Jamie hears the tapes expecting to save the life of Michael. Was she betrayed by Kevin or is Alek lying?

"The Betrayed" is an engaging thriller about captivity and betrayal with many plot points. The movie holds the attention and the viewer is never sure who is lying. Melissa George has a magnificent performance and the conclusion has flaws but does not disappoint. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Pretty clearly dealing with a low budget, this film manages to spend the money wisely, on script and actors who know how. A woman is abducted with her child, by people who want the money her husband stole from a crime syndicate. She thought he was just a struggling restaurant owner. What can she believe, and who can she trust? Set almost exclusively in the room in which she's detained, this turns into a pretty nifty little drama. There are a few plot holes, but they're minor, and didn't drive me out of the movie. The acting is occasionally stereotypical of a "type", but most of the characters are believable and well-portrayed.

This is considerably better than some big-budget stuff I've seen lately - well worth a few hours of your time.

The police find a crashed car but no one is inside. An injured Jamie (Melissa George) wakes up in a grim locked room. She's desperate to find her diabetic son Michael. Her captor (Oded Fehr) interrogates her for money stolen by her husband from criminals.

The first thirty minute is great. It's a solid indie starting premise. It's essentially a two hander inside a grim room. It starts going a little wrong over time. I was hoping for a small horror which uses the room and stays with mostly the two characters. It could have been super inventive with a twist. First I don't like the tapes. They keep the flow static as the movie is forced to listen to them. With each additional turn or each new character, the plot slips away from where I want it to go. It's a functional crime thriller but it's set up for something more special.

No pun intended - we are prisoners of ourselves. But this is also prisoner to cliches - and predictability. So I do believe that most people will be able to see if not all, than at least most twists and turns this will take during its running time. Still the actors make a good case for you to watch.

When this came out, I missed out on it and maybe if you are in the right age it will be able to hit the right note. Though predicting the future and/or peoples reactions is as tough as ... well nothing you will see in this movie for sure. But there is still enough tension and there is still enough suspense ... even predictable one works ... mostly because of the actors! Watch it if you like thrillers ...