Taglines: In every life… for every love… with every trust… there is a risk of Betrayal.
Betrayal follows significant moments in the seven-year extramarital affair of art gallery owner Emma (Patricia Hodge) with literary agent Jerry (Jeremy Irons), the best friend of her husband Robert (Ben Kingsley), a London publisher. With titles such as “Two years earlier” and “One year earlier,” nine sequences are shown in reverse chronological order with Emma and Jerry meeting for the first time at the conclusion of the film.
Harold Pinter based the drama on his seven-year (1962 – 1969) clandestine affair with television presenter Joan Bakewell, who was married to producer-director Michael Bakewell. At the time, Pinter was married to actress Vivien Merchant. Pinter’s screenplay was nominated for a 1983 Academy Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Gale 256, 415).
Betrayal (1983)
Directed by: David Jones
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Hodge, Avril Elgar, Ray Marioni, Caspar Norman, Chloe Billington, Hannah Davies, Michael König, Alexander McIntosh
Screenplay by: Harold Pinter
Production Design by: Eileen Diss
Cinematography by: Mike Fash
Film Editing by: John Bloom
Costume Design by: Jean Muir, Jane Robinson
Music by: Dominic Muldowney
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox (United States), Virgin Group (United Kingdom)
Release Date: February 19, 1983
Views: 180