A 'Lifer' Helen Slater fan, I recently took in a viewing of this for the first time in about 15 years. It's nowhere near as dreadfully bad as I remembered, but it's still not that great either. Of course none of this is in any way directed, I feel, at the Super star in question. It's all on account of the technicalities. For a "Hitchcockian" style thriller in the 1990s, it's a good, intriguing script. Young mother, with a child in tow, is at the center of a dangerously deceptive plot. Who and why are to be discovered as the story unfolds.
Just goes to show that pulling off Hitchcock in style, prose, writing, narrative, et al, isn't an easy task, and certainly one most directors, producers, and studios might figure to steer clear of permanently. That means from HERE ON IN. What may have looked terrific on paper hardly translated properly to the camera and screen. The editing is choppy, sloppy, clunky, and slow. Many tense moments were NOT had because of this. It's one thing to draw a good moment tense or otherwise, out with bypassing the option to implement punch ins, hand held camera takes, and other stylistic tropes with which this industry has become accustomed. Director Strathford Hamilton delivers confident shot compositions and an eerie delusional breakdown moment from the fabulous star, but fails to capture any tension with the story or any of the other cast members, save for Harvey Korman.
As another review mentioned, this is a laughably miscast roster. Slater and Korman are the only properly cast players, whilst Alan Thicke, Kelly LeBrock, and Billy Zane have the look and the potential, it's never reached. It's grinding teeth watching them, despite some moments with stamina and nuance. Still, even those moments are where we see this needed improvement, and could have been better with different casting and directing.
Another fail is the done-to-death suspense "bomb-under-the-table" approach. Another trope made most famously by that 'ol maestro, Hitchcock. Perhaps former actor-turned writer Robby Benson and his wife would have fared better with script doctors. Maybe the budget wouldn't cover it. In any case, the lack of tension and suspense ultimate tank what could have been a motion picture experience. The end titles read "Dolby Stereo in Selected Theaters". Really? Because I don't remember this being released theatrically. Wish it was, if only because Helen Slater (Toldja I was a long time fan) gets to have some fun with this role. Sadly, she and Harvey, who have great chemistry together, haven't anything to react off of, making this absolutely bland.
The film makes excellent use of betrayal, sure, but what of the viewers and the professionals who put much time into this project? It's sloppiness surely must have cost it a prime theatrical run. Lots of potential there and it's just a product, slid onto the Movie Time video shelves. That's the ultimate betrayal right there. We are the ultimate victim when we invest our own time and money into these films, with which we get nothing. Okay, that's not true. As I said, Helen Slater delivers a bright, focused, fully developed character and performance. BUT...in all consideration, 'Betrayal of the Dove' might just work better as an industrial reference to bad films. Maybe...
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