‘Betrayed’--The Early Reviews . . .

A sampling of early reviews of “Betrayed” indicates a possible pattern: the critics seem to be big on Debra Winger, so-so on the film. Excerpts:

Time magazine’s Richard Corliss: “To a tough role, Winger brings all the gifts--chameleon face, whiskey-and-chocolates voice, hoydenish energy, keen moral intelligence, fierce authenticity--that make her a pleasure, an adventure, to watch. Pity they are in the service of a schizoid scenario. . . .”

“People’s” Peter Travers: “. . . an engrossing, well-acted and well-intentioned movie . . . but the screenplay often reeks of melodrama remindful of 1951’s hokey ‘Storm Warning,’ in which Ronald Reagan helped Doris Day defeat the Ku Klux Klan. The love story, though fiercely played by Winger and Berenger, is also fiercely irrelevant and distracting.”

Daily Variety’s Todd McCarthy: “. . . a political thriller that is more political than thrilling. Never less than absorbing due to the combustible subject matter, that of the white supremacist movement, and the sympathetic central presence of Debra Winger, Costa-Gavras’ film suffers from erratic pacing, considerable implausibility and lack of dramatic tension.”

The Hollywood Reporter’s Duane Byrge: “While overstretched as a serious and credible political comment, ‘Betrayed’ works well as a personal drama, thanks largely to the fine-honed and natural lead performances of Debra Winger and Tom Berenger.”

Herald-Examiner’s Peter Rainer: “As hate letters to the heartland go, ‘Betrayed’ is right at the top of the compost heap. . . . As a nightmare image of the hick, ‘Betrayed’ would be funny if it weren’t so soaked in bile. . . . Debra Winger is a great actress in need of a great role. Her performance here is almost believable, which, considering the inadequacy of the role, ranks as a towering achievement.”

Calendar’s Sheila Benson: Costa-Gavras “can’t get free of the improbabilities of (the)pulpy, overwrought script and, valiantly as she tries, Debra Winger can’t prevail against it either. She is warm, desperately vulnerable and against all odds, believeable.”