We suppose that, after 10 years of playing the same character on “Friends,” David Schwimmer isn’t up for the most original creation when it comes to his next film “Trust” (his debut, in case you’re unaware is the already-forgotten flick, “Run Fatboy Run”). The picture is about a teenage girl (Liana Liberato) who is the target of an online sexual predator (Chris Henry Coffey). If the synopsis doesn’t bore you already, take a look at the poster and the trailer.
The trailer, which was released last month, looks just like any B-level drama/thriller you’ve seen — a loving family with perfect parents (played by Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) who have the highest home security possible find out that they’re actually the most unsafe family in the world. Daddy becomes obsessed with the pain of his daughter and basically goes crazy. Viola Davis also stars in the film playing the girl’s therapist. Those three are solid talents, but we can’t say this looks especially compelling. The poster, released yesterday, proves just as boring and ambiguous as the trailer. As you can see, it’s simply Liana Liberato lying solemnly on her bed with one eye staring out toward us. This suggests that the movie will be focused on her pain after being molested by a predator she meets online, but the trailer focuses more on the struggles of her parents. And with a title like “Trust,” we still don’t know exactly what to expect.
It’s very likely that the trailer would showcase the talents of its bigger stars to gain the attention of audiences, but with such a lame poster how can the film expect to reach an audience? Even the title is pretty ambiguous. The more we hear about the film the more, strangely enough, that we want to know more about it, but we’re not holding out any high hopes. If this is any indication of the film itself, Schwimmer doesn’t appear to be accomplishing a coherent storyline. The film will be screening tomorrow through Sunday at TIFF, so hopefully we’ll be receiving some solid feedback about the film and what it’s all about (as we’re likely not going to spend the time viewing it ourselves). Hopefully it’s not as laughable as Schwimmer’s role in “Friends.” The only interesting element we can discern so far is Nathan Larson’s score. – Taylor Hertsenberg
Just caught an 11am screening of Schwimmer's Trust at TIFF and am happy to report back that it was excellent. Schwimmer introduced the movie and explained that his desire to tackle such hard subject matter stems from his long-time involvement at a rape crisis center for youths in California. The movie was very well done. Clive Owen was excellent portraying the helpless, revenge-seeking father. But the highlight by far was Liana Liberato's turn as Annie, the rape victim. Her performance was incredible and certainly marks her as someone we can expect big things from in the future.