Film Review: Searing Performances Elevate David Schwimmer’s ‘Trust’

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CHICAGO – There’s an unsettling potency to relationships that are born online. They take place entirely within the mind, which is capable of producing idealized images never to be equaled by reality. With the right stroke of keys, a savvy writer could potentially seduce a susceptible victim into emotional entrapment. That’s why the Internet is a predator’s playground.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.5/5.0
Rating: 4.5/5.0

In light of recent rumors concerning Google’s plans for a facial recognition app, there couldn’t a more appropriate time for a film like “Trust” to be seen and discussed by families across America. A passing glance at the film’s premise may lead one to expect little more than a moralizing weepie destined for Lifetime, but such an assumption could not be further from the truth. This is a film of startling power and wrenching emotion, with several sequences that emit all the painful vulnerability of an open wound.

StarRead Matt Fagerholm’s full review of “Trust” in our reviews section.

What a remarkable achievement for David Schwimmer, whose only other directorial efforts include a handful of TV movies, as well as 2008’s fitfully amusing comedy, “Run Fatboy Run.” Though I’ve admired some of his past work, I would’ve never expected his latest film to move me more deeply than all ten of last year’s Best Picture nominees. I honestly can’t remember the last film that caused me to blink back tears (in the critic’s screening room, no less). It’s clear that Schwimmer has mastered the difficult task of creating an atmosphere onset that gives his actors the necessary comfort to deliver intense performances of unflinching honesty. He refuses to accompany the work of his cast with an obtrusive score, trusting them instead to hit the right notes. There are few things more viscerally affecting than watching an actor go through an emotional transformation, as the camera captures every nuance with such meticulous detail that the audience begins to feel as if they are going through it themselves. The character’s journey becomes our own simply through the recognition of shared humanity. When “Trust” ended, I felt like I had been through the ringer with these characters, and left feeling both shaken and rejuvenated. Surely this is the mark of a great film.

‘Trust’ stars Liana Liberato, Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Jason Clarke, Viola Davis, Noah Emmerich and Chris Henry Coffey. It was written by Andy Bellin and Robert Festinger and directed by David Schwimmer. It opened April 1 in local theaters. It is rated R.

StarContinue reading for Matt Fagerholm’s full “Trust” review.

Liana Liberato delivers a revelatory performance in David Schwimmer’s Trust.
Liana Liberato delivers a revelatory performance in David Schwimmer’s Trust.
Photo credit: Millennium Entertainment

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