| Betrayal | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Jones |
| Screenplay by | Harold Pinter |
| Based on | Betrayal by Harold Pinter |
| Produced by | Sam Spiegel |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Mike Fash |
| Edited by | John Bloom |
| Music by | Dominic Muldowney |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Virgin Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Betrayal is a 1983 Britishdramafilm adaptation ofHarold Pinter's1978 play. With a semi-autobiographical screenplay by Pinter, the film was produced bySam Spiegel and directed byDavid Jones. It was critically well received. Distributed by20th Century Fox International Classics in the United States, it was first screened in movie theaters in New York in February 1983.[1]
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Betrayal follows significant moments in the seven-year extramarital affair of art gallery owner Emma with literary agent Jerry, the best friend of her husband Robert, a London publisher. Nine sequences are shown in reverse chronological order with Emma and Jerry meeting for the first time at the conclusion of the film.
ScreenwriterHarold Pinter based the drama on his seven-year (1962–69) clandestine affair with television presenterJoan Bakewell, who was married to producer-directorMichael Bakewell. At the time, Pinter was married to actressVivien Merchant.[2][3]
New York Times film criticVincent Canby said Harold Pinter is "justifiably celebrated" and that "nothing he has written for the stage has ever been as simply and grandly realized on the screen as hisBetrayal". He applauded the performances of the three lead actors, the direction, and the meaningful application of reverse chronology, and summed up that "I can't think of another recent film that is simultaneously so funny, so moving and so rigorously unsentimental. ... This is pure Pinter well served by collaborators."[4]Chicago Sun-Times film criticRoger Ebert similarly commented that the film's reverse chronology, far from being a gimmick, is the key element to its brilliance. He gave the movie four stars.[5]
Dave Kehr of theChicago Reader, by contrast, argued that "The reverse-order gimmick of Harold Pinter's screenplay seems meant to revitalize some trite and tedious material—the breakup of a love affair—yet the expected literary games don't materialize: the film plods backward in time with the same dull linearity it would have moving forward." He praised Kingsley's performance but gave the film an overall negative assessment.[6]Geoff Andrew likewise wrote inTime Out, "Hodge is fine, Kingsley tries his best, and Irons is as tight-assed as ever. But it's all so uncinematic as to make one wonder why it was ever made in the first place."[7]Variety commented that Patricia Hodge gave a much less compelling performance than the other two leads but summed up the film as "an absorbing, quietly amusing chamber drama for those attuned to Harold Pinter’s way with words."[8]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[9] | Best Adapted Screenplay | Harold Pinter | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards[10] | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | |
| Evening Standard British Film Awards | Best Actor | Ben Kingsley | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards[11] | Best Film | Won[a] | |
| Top Ten Films | Won[b] | ||
