THE STORY – A Hollywood starlet retreats to a remote cabin after a scandal — but she’s not alone. Betrayed by the man she trusted the most, she soon finds herself trapped in a brutal game of survival.
THE CAST – Sophie Turner, Rhys Coiro, Billy Campbell, Peter Mensah, Forrest Goodluck, Gianni Paolo, Renata Vaca & Katey Sagal
THE TEAM – Carlson Young (Director) & Gigi Levangie (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 126 Minutes
The relationship between a filmmaker and their audience is one of mutual trust. The filmmaker trusts that the audience will buy into the fictional world they’ve created, and the audience trusts that the filmmaker has created a work of art that fulfills the goals set forth by the director, whatever they may be. “Trust,” the new film from Carlson Young, confidently asks its audience to buy into its odd structure, peppered with unpredictable tonal shifts. It wants to be many things – a survival horror, a menacing hit man story, a Hollywood takedown, and at times, a broad comedy. Not all viewers will trust the film to stick the landing, and to mix the metaphor further, not all of its needles are sufficiently threaded. But thanks to a compelling central performance from Sophie Turner, “Trust” remains captivating throughout – just not always for the reasons Young likely wanted.
Turner plays Lauren Lane, an actress who’s been the star of the beloved sitcom “Meet the Johnsons” since she was a little girl. America has essentially watched her grow up on their television screens. As the film opens, she finds herself unexpectedly thrust into a scandal after falling victim to a hacking. The infiltrator leaks her private information, including a photo of a positive pregnancy test. Eager to escape the media spotlight, she retreats to a rented home in the country in order to wait out the hubbub. Her sabbatical is quickly interrupted when the home’s owner, Marcus (Gianni Paolo), discovers who she is through invasive cameras hidden throughout his property. This catches the attention of his ne’er-do-well uncle Darren (Rhys Coiro) and his wild card associate Merg (Forrest Goodluck). The criminal pair breaks into the home, forcing Lauren to hide in a utility room. The room seals behind her, trapping her inside, forcing her to try to find a way out before those who would do her harm can get in on their own.
If that sounds like the set-up to a taut thriller, the film isn’t interested in being quite so simple. Instead, it delves beyond Lauren’s situation, revealing other individuals in her life who are also attempting to reach Lauren for nefarious purposes. In addition, completely unexpected figures enter unknowingly into Lauren’s circle, like a kooky animal lover named Loretta (Katey Sagal) who finds Lauren’s escaped dog wandering outside. These many branching tendrils of plot show just how easily one can affect others without even knowing it, although it’s not clear if that’s what the screenplay intends to say. Instead, it all feels quite random, which is also true to life, but it just feels more unfulfilling as an overall artistic premise.
What’s also true to life is the way that the film can’t seem to settle on a single unified tone. One minute it’s a tense depiction of a pregnant woman trying to survive in beyond-difficult circumstances, and the next it’s a strangely funny look into the life of a wannabe good Samaritan who cares more about dogs than people. These tonal shifts make the film feel as if it lacks a foundation. Ostensibly, Lauren should act as a grounding force for the story, but the film spends so much time away from her that she feels like less and less of a plot anchor over time. Still, these energy shifts keep the film oddly watchable, as there’s no way to predict what’s coming next or how it’ll be depicted.
Luckily, Turner is excellent, leaning into the odd hallucinatory moments that her character experiences while never losing the sense that her character is in real peril. She’s shaky and frightened at her most vulnerable, and resourceful and powerful when she takes matters into her own hands. Sagal is also a highlight, turning in a comic performance that doesn’t entirely distract. She feels as if she’s the main character, fitting her over-the-top persona perfectly. Goodluck seems to be approaching his character from a similar angle, giving a big performance that occasionally toes the line into being funny when that isn’t called for.
“Trust” is an erratic journey into the experience of a character who’s dealing with one nightmare before finding herself in another, more urgent one. Sophie Turner is highly sympathetic, making her the film’s best element, and the movie is lucky to have her. Without her as a personified checkpoint for the surprisingly sprawling film, the movie would feel as wildly chaotic as the robbery that sets the plot in motion.
