The false friend trope is quite a common plot device for creating unexpected villains and surprise heartbreaks. That's why a lot of movies love to introduce their false friend characters. Because in the event that they reveal themselves, they do so with style, and this usually results in the hero's supposed demise with the false friend maniacally laughing, both literally and internally.
But some false friend reveals in movies are less comedic than that and are actually traumatic as eye-openers for the main characters. Sadly, that false friend might be necessary for character development. Whether the false friend is there to enforce a nihilistic perspective or to fuel a revenge story, these ones tend to be the most heartbreaking. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
8 Elsa Schneider Was A Thief Whose Heart Was Stolen – Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
Elsa Schneider turned out to be a dubious spy whose plan was to steal information on the Holy Grail's whereabouts by seducing Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade. Jones, being the ladies-man that he is, fell for it easily enough. Her reveal was not that shocking, as there were hints.
However, it was later revealed that Elsa also slept with Jones Sr. for better chances of success at her goal. For Indie, that must have been both disturbing and heartbreaking at the same time. But Elsa did get her grisly just rewards for aiding fascists and being too greedy.
7 Truman Was Living In A False World – The Truman Show
The Truman Show was an interesting film that parodied reality TV and pre-determinism. At the heart of it all was the titular character, Truman Burbank, who gradually discovered that his life was a lie and that he was living inside a reality show set. Everyone knew about it except him.
Sure enough, his best friend, and any friend he had on the set — including his wife, was a false friend. Truman's mental breakdown and his stages of grief upon realizing his fake life were the most painful parts of the show. It can even make viewers question their own reality and the legitimacy of their lives.
6 Gilliam Was A Power Player All Along – Snowpiercer
In Bong Joon-Ho's Snowpiercer, what was left of the world was turned into a train after a frozen apocalypse. This train had an obvious and inhumane divide between the wealthy and the destitute. Among the poor, there was a friendly wise old man among them who guided their actions and foresaw the revolution to change the train's status quo.
But it was all for show. Gilliam, as it happens, was a co-conspirator of the train's conductor; he was complicit in their plan of staging failed revolutions to cull the train's population. Such a revelation was at the very least, heart-rending to Curtis, the leader of the revolution who even looked up to Gilliam as both a mentor and a friend.
5 The Boyfriend Was The Impostor – Scream
In the first Scream movie, it was not just a friend who revealed himself to be a serial killing false friend, but a boyfriend — Billy, to be exact. Billy, in the story, was Sidney's boyfriend but he secretly harbors a burning hatred for her since the former held the latter's parents responsible for his parent's divorce.
So he donned a black robe and wore the iconic Ghostface mask while stabbing innocent people with a knife, all to get back at Sidney. Such is the case for a whodunit movie where there's no shortage of false friends. The trope is also heavily present in the succeeding Scream films.
4 Antonio Salieri Was A Jealous Genius – Amadeus
Amadeus was a fictionalized biopic of Mozart himself, and to add conflict to the otherwise historical story, they changed up his colleague's personality to that of a jealous peer. The colleague in question was Antonio Salieri and he even wanted to commission a masterpiece from Mozart, have him killed, and then claim the credit.
The reveal wasn't as shocking as other false friend unveilings, but Salieri's slow-burn descent into covetous insanity was hard to watch seeing as the film portrayed Mozart as a hedonistic and arrogant debonair. Some of Salieri's hate was somewhat justified or validated.
3 Mondego's Betrayal Is A Timeless Tale – The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo is the 2002 film adaptation of the classic revenge tale of the same name. In this faithful retelling, Edmond Dantes had everything — a beautiful wife, a sizable mansion, and a good future as a noble. But his best friend, Fernand Mondego was, of course, jealous of everything he had.
So, Mondego had Dantes imprisoned on false charges and left him for dead so he could steal Dantes' life. Dantes' suffering was traumatic since he was innocent and even considered Mondego a true friend. But Dantes managed to learn much from his predicament and he came out stronger and wiser.
2 Saruman Already Changed Sides – The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Gandalf was one of the most lovable and reliable characters in The Lord of the Rings. That's why it was so distressing seeing him betrayed by an old friend and comrade, Saruman. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf went to Saruman for help against Sauron's budding re-emergence, but to his surprise, Saruman was already converted to Sauron's side.
But it wasn't just Saruman's betrayal that hurt, he also had to hurt Gandalf within an inch of his life after the latter discovered the treason. Their fight was agonizing to witness as it showed that even a venerable and powerful wizard like Gandalf was initially no match for someone like Saruman.
1 Lando's Not A System, He's A Traitor – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Even sci-fi films are no exception when it comes to harboring false friend characters. The most shocking reveal of them all was with Lando Calrissian and his betrayal of Han Solo. Lando sold Han out to Darth Vader. Granted, Lando was looking after Cloud City and it was what he assumed was a necessary betrayal based on the immediate consequences.
But for that moment, Lando had to disregard his friendship with Han regardless of whether it was a lie by omission or coerced cooperation with the Empire. So technically, he had to be a false friend for a short while. Thankfully, they seem to have made up in the end, and Lando made amends and became a Rebel Alliance general.