Based on a stage production he also directed, David Schwimmer’s Trust is either a great cautionary tale or the worst Macbook Pro commercial you’ve ever seen. A Chicago High School freshman named Annie (the revelatory Liana Liberato) uses her new computer to chat with Charlie, a 16-year-old volleyball player offering advice for her upcoming tryouts. Wait, he’s actually a 20-year-old sophomore at UC Berkley. Make that a 25-year-old grad student. And when Annie finally meets the creep, it turns out he’s in his upper 30s. Hell, is Charlie even his real name?
Schwimmer smartly utilizes some pop-up graphics that save us from watching Annie type for the first 20 minutes of the movie, but he can’t escape the temptation of making his characters read their messages aloud as they type them into the computer. People don’t really do this, do they? Please, correct me if I’m wrong. At this point, the film probably sounds like the familiar “To Catch a Predator” fare and there were moments when I questioned whether a 14-year-old in this day and age could still be this naive. But the predatory encounter is just the start of the film and what follows is anything but what you’d expect.
Annie’s parents are played by Clive Owen and Catherine Keener, so you know you’re in for some great performances. Keener offers her daughter warmth and space. Owen becomes hellbent on revenge, obsessed with the investigation conducted by an FBI agent played by Jason Clarke (Fox’s axed “Chicago Code”) and every aspect of his daughter’s personal life.
Much of Annie’s aftermath is spent in the counseling office with Viola Davis (Doubt), as she slowly moves from “he didn’t rape me” into the harsh realization that the assaulter didn’t actually love her. Trust made me feel the same way I do when I watch a good horror film, squirming in discomfort and feeling pain for the characters. It’s often hard to watch and it’s made all the more frightening because the threat is so real.
While I’m not yet a parent, my girlfriend and I still had a long talk about parenting after we saw the film in theaters. How does one find that balance between allowing their kids the freedom to grow while still trying to shield them from the world’s evils? As technology continues to expand, how much should a child’s activity be monitored? How much can we really do to prevent our loved ones from getting hurt?
Provided you’re willing to deal with film’s R rating, there are lessons here for everyone — regardless of age or family situation. But more importantly, the film is certainly a conversation starter. Trust is a daring film that deserves to be seen and discussed with those closest to you.
