The subject of this movie is a very complex one. Basically the storyline is about a young girl, who falls in love with a guy she met online. When she finds out that he's not who he says he is, she still goes out to meet him only to find a man over twice her age. But, he sweet-talks her into a hotel room where they have sex. When, after that, he stops answering her calls, she gets upset. Her best friend finds out and brings it all in the open. Result; an FBI investigation, a very angry father and a very confused teenager.
Now let me start with the fact that any adult who lures a 14 year old into a hotel room to have sex is a sexual predator and I would definitely call that sexual abuse. A young girl like that is very vulnerable, and such men do not give a **** about what happens to her afterward. They only think about their own screwed-up sexual adventure. In my mind, that is simply sick. Now; to start the complexity of it; was it rape? Not according to the victim, she only started to see it as rape after she found out that she wasn't the only girl he had sex with. Did he abuse her? Yes. So was it against her will? Well, although she got talked into it and wasn't much relaxed, it still was something she sort of wanted to do. She didn't struggle, she didn't say no, she voluntarily went with him, undressed herself at free will. Afterwards, she wanted to develop a relationship with him and got upset when he ignored her. In my mind, that is not rape. Was she abused? Yes. Damaged? Yes. But she was not raped.
This movie also deals with the totally logical reactions of her father. Of course he goes insane with anger. Initially he only sees her as a victim of rape, which is enough to make any good father want to kill someone. But it gets a lot more confusing to him when he finds the chat-reports. He finds out that his little girl has had all kinds of sexual chats. So not only did some pervert had his hands on his daughter, the image of his innocent little girl also gets shattered, which is extremely difficult for him to deal with.
The only one Annie can really talk to is her therapist (a great performance by Viola Davis), who is the only one not judging her. Which is a good thing, as Annie is very confused and protecting 'Charlie'. At one point Annie says: "I don't understand, some girls at school had sex with half of the football team, why is my boyfriend such a problem? He loves me." And there you have it, Annie desperately wants to be loved, and all the reactions around her drive her more towards such a predator. She doesn't face how Charlie has abused his power over her, and she longs for someone to compliment her and tell her 'how special she is'. Not only does she (initially) not feel raped, she also feels like she is 'a dirty girl', especially after all her privacy got out of the window and not just the FBI but also her parents have read her chat history. Which must feel like a huge humiliation to her. Later, at school she gets bullied over it. Annie's loneliness grows, until she can not take it anymore. Which is a very sad moment in the movie. At the same time, it's rather logical. She is slowly growing up but too young to understand what she has gotten herself in to, she sincerely thinks she loves Charlie and he loves her, and after having voluntary sex, everybody starts to interfere with her, doubting her, taking away all the privacy she has and all the self respect she still had left.
And that is among the damage such a predator can do, and why there are laws protecting teenagers against sexual contact with adults. When I was her age, I had a severe crush on a teacher. If the teacher had wanted, I would have turned to melted wax. But for an adult to have sex with such a young person, there is always something wrong. The two are never equals and the teenager can not understand and oversee the psychological consequences. Even if it is voluntary, this is simply abuse of power, a total disrespect towards the adolescent. Such people should be stopped. Now if you focus on the girl, how do you handle such a case? Of course a parent does and should get angry, but at the same time we should try to understand the girl's point of view. She shouldn't be victimized more then she already is. The therapist does understand her, the mother tries, the father has to grow towards that point. It is all so human, and you can not simply say how those involved should act and react. The only one who is really to blame is the predator. It is made clear in 'Trust' that such predators often know all to well what they are doing. They are masters of manipulation, and there are far too many of such people around. The internet is a perfect hunting ground, they are professionals in playing into the victim's feelings. We should teach our children the dangers of such people, and make them understand the way they hunt and the words they use.
'Trust' deals with trust on several levels. It's an interesting movie with all kinds of angles for discussion. It shows that a case like this is never simple, and should be treated with a lot of care. It shows the difficulty of such a situation, and the complexity of all emotions involved. Although it is IMO too much of a mainstream movie, it is still well done.
Now let me start with the fact that any adult who lures a 14 year old into a hotel room to have sex is a sexual predator and I would definitely call that sexual abuse. A young girl like that is very vulnerable, and such men do not give a **** about what happens to her afterward. They only think about their own screwed-up sexual adventure. In my mind, that is simply sick. Now; to start the complexity of it; was it rape? Not according to the victim, she only started to see it as rape after she found out that she wasn't the only girl he had sex with. Did he abuse her? Yes. So was it against her will? Well, although she got talked into it and wasn't much relaxed, it still was something she sort of wanted to do. She didn't struggle, she didn't say no, she voluntarily went with him, undressed herself at free will. Afterwards, she wanted to develop a relationship with him and got upset when he ignored her. In my mind, that is not rape. Was she abused? Yes. Damaged? Yes. But she was not raped.
This movie also deals with the totally logical reactions of her father. Of course he goes insane with anger. Initially he only sees her as a victim of rape, which is enough to make any good father want to kill someone. But it gets a lot more confusing to him when he finds the chat-reports. He finds out that his little girl has had all kinds of sexual chats. So not only did some pervert had his hands on his daughter, the image of his innocent little girl also gets shattered, which is extremely difficult for him to deal with.
The only one Annie can really talk to is her therapist (a great performance by Viola Davis), who is the only one not judging her. Which is a good thing, as Annie is very confused and protecting 'Charlie'. At one point Annie says: "I don't understand, some girls at school had sex with half of the football team, why is my boyfriend such a problem? He loves me." And there you have it, Annie desperately wants to be loved, and all the reactions around her drive her more towards such a predator. She doesn't face how Charlie has abused his power over her, and she longs for someone to compliment her and tell her 'how special she is'. Not only does she (initially) not feel raped, she also feels like she is 'a dirty girl', especially after all her privacy got out of the window and not just the FBI but also her parents have read her chat history. Which must feel like a huge humiliation to her. Later, at school she gets bullied over it. Annie's loneliness grows, until she can not take it anymore. Which is a very sad moment in the movie. At the same time, it's rather logical. She is slowly growing up but too young to understand what she has gotten herself in to, she sincerely thinks she loves Charlie and he loves her, and after having voluntary sex, everybody starts to interfere with her, doubting her, taking away all the privacy she has and all the self respect she still had left.
And that is among the damage such a predator can do, and why there are laws protecting teenagers against sexual contact with adults. When I was her age, I had a severe crush on a teacher. If the teacher had wanted, I would have turned to melted wax. But for an adult to have sex with such a young person, there is always something wrong. The two are never equals and the teenager can not understand and oversee the psychological consequences. Even if it is voluntary, this is simply abuse of power, a total disrespect towards the adolescent. Such people should be stopped. Now if you focus on the girl, how do you handle such a case? Of course a parent does and should get angry, but at the same time we should try to understand the girl's point of view. She shouldn't be victimized more then she already is. The therapist does understand her, the mother tries, the father has to grow towards that point. It is all so human, and you can not simply say how those involved should act and react. The only one who is really to blame is the predator. It is made clear in 'Trust' that such predators often know all to well what they are doing. They are masters of manipulation, and there are far too many of such people around. The internet is a perfect hunting ground, they are professionals in playing into the victim's feelings. We should teach our children the dangers of such people, and make them understand the way they hunt and the words they use.
'Trust' deals with trust on several levels. It's an interesting movie with all kinds of angles for discussion. It shows that a case like this is never simple, and should be treated with a lot of care. It shows the difficulty of such a situation, and the complexity of all emotions involved. Although it is IMO too much of a mainstream movie, it is still well done.