Treachery (2013) Review

Treachery (2013)

Written and Directed by: Travis Romero.

Produced by: Paul Foley, Ryan Azevedo, Denny Kirkwood, Jason Sallee and Kate Rees Davies.

Cast:

Michael Biehn, Jennifer Blanc Biehn, Caitlin Keats, Chris Meyer, Matthew Ziff, Sarah Butler, Lorraine Ziff.

Tagline:

“Deep roots. Deeper secrets.”

Synopsis:

During what should be a celebratory weekend away; one family must come face to face with the lies and deceit which threatens to destroy everything.

Beneath the surface there lies… Treachery.

Review:

In an age where imagination should be flourishing with the advances of modern technology and the sheer scope of new possibilities,- Hollywood seems to find itself remaking classic movies instead of creating new classics. Hollywood has taken it upon itself to remind movie-goers of movies that they grew up with whilst taking a proverbial mallet to them again and again in the ever-present pursuit of the claim that; “I did it better”.

So, as I sat down to watch Treachery (2013) I was skeptical; expecting the same old Hollywood bulls*t of “I know what’s going to happen next”, only to find myself lured, bluffed and completely bamboozled by quite frankly the biggest piece of misdirection I think I ever saw. But I won’t go into that…

The acting in this movie is quiet, lending the performances a very subtle edge of tension which allows the dialogue to take center stage; Micheal Biehn is pitch-perfect with his portrayal of the overbearing, distant, perfectionist father ‘Henry’ who demands success from his disillusioned, aimless son ‘Nathan’ (Matthew Ziff). Henry’s patriarchal disapproval is back-lit by the beautifully nuanced performance of Caitlin Keats who plays ‘Vanessa’ his devoted yet unappreciated wife.

There is also strong support to the story in the form of the mysterious ‘Evan’ (Chris Meyer) like a showman with all the bells, whistles and tricks, he adds an air of the casual observer caught in his own observation- whilst all around him is sudden emotional pandemonium.

The younger characters ‘Nathan’ (Ziff) and ‘Cecilia’ (Sarah Butler) are able to imbue the story with an element of the unpredictable which manages to coalesce the simmering undertones set within this darkly intense story of a family divided into roaring life.

Treachery is a wonderfully meaty, well-paced adult drama which interweaves the understated play of family resentment within the claustrophobic confines of betrayal as it delicately leads you far away from your expectations with an almost Machiavellian sleight-of-hand to leave you slack-jawed that you didn’t see it coming.

Summary:

Totally surprising, engrossing and well worth watching.

Note:

There’s also a nice little Dark Angel reunion with Jennifer Blanc and Richard Gunn- both starred in James Cameron’s hit Science Fiction series as ‘Kendra’ and ‘Sketchy’.