[3.9]
Being only Hal Hartley’s second feature, this movie reeks of early 90’s independent cinema, from the offbeat writing and stilted but interesting acting to the dirty mix of muted and “pop” colors onscreen and the quirky instrumental soundtrack. I liked this better than HENRY FOOL (perhaps because I understood it more than that film), though its not nearly as daring or provocative as Hartley’s later “masterpiece.” In many ways, TRUST is a simple film that showcases Hartley’s philosophically-tinged writing and his early troupe of indie talent, but it is not a game-changer. I didn’t take away any revelations, and I had a hard time judging whether or not Adrienne Shelly was a good actress or just an interesting screen presence.
The film is incredibly showy and self-consciously indie, but I almost love it for trying to be so different from the Hollywood films of the time. It’s a small, dirty movie that looks like it was shot without a production designer (everything looks fake; the walls are too blank, the lighting too artificial, the colors and props too neat and theatrically placed), but it has balls. And a wicked sense of humor. To start a film with a man dying from the shock of finding out his tramp daughter is pregnant is wonderfully dark. It was interesting to see a young Martin Donovan and Edie Falco, but I would hardly call their performances memorable. No, it is Adrienne Shelly who steals the show here in a self-consciously “out-there” performance that brings to mind Laura Dern’s comical turn in CITIZEN RUTH. Shelly falls in love with Donovan, aborts her child, tries to make amends with her furious mother, all while Donovan tries to control his temper and hold down a steady job and become a respectable husband/father-to-be.
Hartley makes some interesting comments on how we change our behavior to suit others, but often lose the best parts of ourselves in the process, but most of the observations are pretty facile. To his credit, Hartley never seems to be mocking his characters or making light of their poor choices, but he never let us get really close to them either. They are kept at a distance, to let us watch their behavior and try to crack their enigmatic personalities (which doesn’t happen, probably because the characters themselves don’t know who they are). Just like a mediocre movie from the 70s seems to hold certain caché because of the specific time and place its camerawork and acting style evoke, TRUST is enjoyable as a product of the early 90s independent movement. Its amusing to watch Hartley push against the perceived limits of the time, but its still a rather average movie.
burning retina 