The Trust

The rating is calculated like this... 9 out of 10 for ACTING/CINEMATOGRAPHY 0 out of 10 for Writing Suicide Can't blame the original screenwriter as I am unaware if this was their undoing or the work of some higher up. Some people write to be unique and artistic, but not everyone can get away with it. The Trust starts out as a brilliant film, but then writes into confusion around the 3rd act, and in the end figuratively leaves you atop a mountain like Frodo and Sam in part one of The Lord of the Rings (TLOTR). It gives the feeling that the director couldn't be bothered completing this film. Sadly there is no part two or three for this film. Had they gone with a more thorough and adaptive ending, this film might have been on the same caliber as Boondock Saints or Reservoir Dogs. I hate to say it, but this is a perfect example for writers to watch so they can learn what NOT to do with the ending of of a screenplay...

Nick Cage, along with Ben Kingsley and Eric Roberts, has become known over the past decade as simply one of those actors who doesn't turn down roles. Many of his movies of late are definitely of the B- grade variety, but the guy still can act (see: "Bad Lieutenant 2", for example (the same can be said of Kingsley and Roberts)), so you never quite know what expect. I had higher expectations for this movie than it probably deserved given it was billed as a heist movie, which is one of my favorite genres, and I like Elijah Wood (the TV show "Wilfred"is a personal favorite). What's more, the movie has some things going for it; it is something of a modern take on a Jim Thompson style noir heist movie. But ultimately, I can't recommend it. Maybe the Thompson style noir just doesn't work for the modern mindset, but without character development such that you give a crap about why these people are doing what they are doing, and who they really "are"as people, this movie just fails to draw one in, and it just doesn't pack the punch that it should. I think a lot of people who see it will just be frustrated with the movie as a whole, particularly the ending. There is an over-riding feeling of--wtf, is that it?--when it's all over. But to be fair, Thompson's novels (of which there are legions of fans) often had the same feel to them. So in a sense, the movie seems true to its particular throw-back noir vision and deserves more consideration than most of the toss-off b-movies that one might associate with Cage these days. Even so, that vision just isn't enough any more. Downbeat endings just for the sake of a downbeat ending don't cut it. Rent "Matchstick Men" instead--similar in a few ways, and much more successful as a modern take on noir.