Betrayal (2003)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

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!!!

"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.