Match Point (2005)
The Betrayal: Engaged former tennis pro Chris (Jonathan Rhys Myers) beds his brother-in-law’s girlfriend Nola (Scarlett Johansson).
Why It’s So Bad: As if that wasn’t betrayal enough, when Nola threatens to expose their affair, Chris takes a shotgun to her.
The Fallout: Chris has visions of Nola telling him he’s about to get his just desserts…
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Betrayal: Capt. Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) reveals that corruption starts at the top by shooting dodgy copper Vincennes (Kevin Spacey).
Why It’s So Bad: Smith’s supposed to be a clean whistle, the guy that Exley (Guy Pearce) can hold up as a role model.
Instead, he turns out to be worst of a very bad bunch.
The Fallout: Vincennes whispers the name ‘Rollo Tomasi’ with his dying breath, sealing Smith’s fate.
Primal Fear (1996)
The Betrayal: Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton) makes his lawyer Martin Vail (Richard Gere) look like a fool by confessing his so-called dual personality is all a grand ruse while on trial for murder.
Why It’s So Bad: It’s not like Aaron quietly confides in Martin in a stuffy side room.
Instead, he announces his guilt to the entire court…
The Fallout: Aaron gets banged up, but has no memory of the court room…
The Departed (2006)
The Betrayal: There's betrayal going on all over the place in Martin Scorsese’s remake of Infernal Affairs , as cop William Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is undercover in the criminal world, while crim Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is undercover as a cop.
Why It’s So Bad: It’s just a big old mess, really, isn’t it?
The Fallout: Lots of bullets in heads.
Nobody comes out of this looking good.
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
The Betrayal: The supposedly virtuous Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) takes it upon herself to exact revenge on an ex-loser by destroying his new fiancée, Cécile de Volanges (Uma Thurman).
Why It’s So Bad: The Marquise de Merteuil does it all out of contempt, and pulls everybody’s strings as if they were nothing more than puppets.
The Fallout: A tragic ending to end all tragic endings.
Blow (2001)
The Betrayal: When cellmates George (Johnny Depp) and Diego (Jordi Molla) go into business together selling drugs, Diego eventually betrays George by severing his connection with drug-selling middleman Derek.
Why It’s So Bad: These guys were cell buddies.
Did all of that mean nothing?
The Fallout: George ends up rotting in prison.
Poor George.
The Last Seduction (1994)
The Betrayal: Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) ditches her husband Clay (Bill Pullman) and steals $700,000 from him.
Why It’s So Bad: It’s just the start of Bridget’s philandering ways as she poses as a husband-killing assassin then manipulates buddy Mike (Peter Berg) into committing actual murder.
The Fallout: Bridget escapes scot-free while everybody else takes the fall.
Before The Devil Knows Youre Dead (2007)
The Betrayal: Hank and Andy (Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman) need money – the former to support his child, the latter to fund his drug addiction. Their plan?
Rob their parents’ jewellery store.
Why It’s So Bad: Being a thief is different to being a thief who thieves from your own parents.
The Fallout: The guys’ mother dies after the heist and their father decides to investigate the crime without the help of the police.
Braveheart (1995)
The Betrayal: Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen) disowns his father when he secretly plots to hand William Wallace (Mel Gison) over to the English.
Prior to that, mind, Robert the Bruce also sided with the English at the Battle of Falkirk.
Why It’s So Bad: Because historical accuracy is a bit of a joke in Gibson’s epic?
The Fallout: There’s this whole song and dance about somebody being hanged, drawn and quartered…
Jurassic Park (1993)
The Betrayal: Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight), the computer tech guy at Jurassic Park, betrays the entire company when he decides to steal dinosaur embryos and sell them to a rival.
Why It’s So Bad: Spreading more dinosaurs across the world?
Not exactly the greatest idea anybody ever had.
The Fallout: Dennis gets a karmic kick in the groin when he’s cornered by a hungry Dilophosaurus.
