Betrayed (1988 film)

1988 film by Costa Gavras

Betrayed received mostly negative reviews. At Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 36% "Rotten" rating based on 14 reviews. Sheila Benson in the Los Angeles Times in August 1988 believed Betrayed contained "a loosening of the trademark Costa Gavras tension and the sogging of a relevant issue into overwrought pulp", which for all the efforts of the actors "the film begins at the implausible and works its way quickly downhill". It lurches "from the outrageous to the outright ludicrous". Roger Ebert wrote: "a film that left me in turmoil, torn between the strong sympathies I felt for the characters and the fundamental doubts I had about the plot. Here were people I believed in, involved in a story that no one could believe in." Ebert thought there was a conflict between the thriller envisaged in the screenplay by Eszterhas and the presumed wish of Costa Gavras to make a political film, but there still remains "two performances of such power that the characters become real, and sympathetic, despite everything", in reference to the central roles of Berenger and Winger. Janet Maslin in The New York Times itemized what she saw as the film's "story problems". She doubted there was a feasible way "to stage the sequence that has the amorous Gary dragging his new sweetheart along on a racist hunting expedition, insisting 'You'll like this' when she protests? Is it possible, after this, that she can still find him attractive? Is the F. B. I. really apt to send a brand new female agent on such a dangerous mission, to deny her adequate backup and to bully her when she complains? John Heard, who is good as an F. B. I. colleague who's in love with Cathy, is meant to provide the element of sexual jealousy that explains this. But like too much of Betrayed, it just doesn't make sense." In a 1996 interview, Berenger named Betrayed as his favorite film, shrugging off any media criticism with the retort "It was exactly what it was meant to be".

The film debuted at #2 at the box office, earning $5,534,787 and coming in behind the second weekend of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. The film would go on to gross $25,816,139 in the United States.