Trust (1990) User Reviews

Surprisingly heartfelt and unique

[dissident320 · 7/10 · 23 September 2017]

I quite enjoyed this movie but it's difficult to explain what made it stand out to me. Despite being released in 1990 it feels like it has more 80s charm than some of those awful 90s teen movies. It has a tone to it more akin to Heathers.

There's not much in the way of plot but the actors really sell the roles without ever being reduced to caricatures. Adrienne Shelly was lovely and you buy her relationship with Martin Donovan. I doubt this movie could get made these days but him being in a relationship with a highschool girl is well-written. It is not overtly sexual and he is not made to be a predator preying on a naive teenager. If anything, she is more emotionally developed than him so the terms of their coupling seem to be dictated by her.

Lastly, this movie is impressively shot. Nicely composed shots, great use of close-ups for emotional scenes a few tracking shots that I thought were excellent.

All in all, it feels like a movie that could have been forgotten about but is well worth your while to check out.

Low-key Hal Hartley, view at least twice or don't

[Per_Klingberg · 8/10 · 26 April 2003]

I didn't understand it right after the first viewing, but 'Trust' certainly is of Hal Hartley's finest works, excelled only by the somewhat more conventional drama 'Henry Fool'. As with many other of Hartley's earlier works, it takes a while to let the film sink into you. But with the second viewing one starts to appreciate the film's subtilities, both the dry absurd humour and the fine, deeply compassionate portraits of the characters.

The story starts up with a scene typical for Hartley: rebellious teenager Maria Coughlin informs her parents that not only will she drop out of high school, she is also pregnant. A quarrel takes place, and when her father calls her 'slut' she slaps him in the face. He drops down dead. The movie can begin.

Things get ugly for Maria. Her boyfriend, a chauvinist pig, leaves her when she informs him that she's pregnant, claiming he's not the father anyway. And at home her mother waits for her and coolly claims that since Maria's killed her husband, she is now forever in her mother's debt and have to work for her. Never again will she do housework... This is when she meets up with Matthew Slaughter, a truly gifted engineer but with a somewhat sociopathic behaviour, and filled to the brim with anger and hatered.

Martin Donovan truly does an outstanding portrait of Matthew, and perfectly manages to forge his paradoxal feelings of extreme anger and vulnerability into a fully working unit.

A deeply moving story of two scarred, somewhat maladjusted souls manage to find each other, told in a low-key mood that doesn't get to you immediately. But eventually it does, and when it does...you're hooked.

8/10

Unique style. A portrait of a family, who hate each other, but cant live without each other either. Fascinating, comical and touching.

[imseeg · 8/10 · 25 May 2020]

Director Hal Hartley's second movie fascinated me when it was first released in 1990 and now I am still fascinated by it when I saw it this very night. Why do I feel this specific fascination? Because Hal Hartley's direction style is unique; this director uses his characters as chess pieces, who mentally (and sometimes physically) attack each other in a story about family life, in which love is synonym for hate.

It's a story about a mother and a father, who both hate their children, but who are fearful of losing their children anyway, because hate is all they have got...

However sad my above description may sound this movie is lighthearted and gentle and comical in a subtle way. And it is quite touching. Highly recommended for the art house movie fans of intelligent, subtle, quirky dramatic comedies.

Years later and this movie still get me

[john_bonsai · 9/10 · 28 March 2006]

I had the honor of viewing this, one of Hal Hartley's first films, last night. This being 2006, needless to say it has been some time since my first viewing of this very special film. This is the kind of movie that I recommend to certain friends and younger people I know (I first viewed it when very young). So many moments sit in my mind unnoticed until another viewing years after the last. An amazing tale of growth and awakening in a world that often does not present itself as being conducive to growth. The dialog is pure Hartley (if you are unfamiliar with his films I would recommend this as a good place to start). Halfway between John Hughes and Samuel Beckett. The actors portray their awakenings delicately and with precision. Please see this film!

My Favorite Movie Of All Time

[david-a-goddard · 10/10 · 30 July 2010]

I first saw this film in 1990 while I was in college and I loved it. I watched it over and over on VHS. I told everyone that this was my favorite movie of all time and watched every Hal Hartley movie I could find. Last night I stumbled across Trust on Netflix Instant and I thought I'd check it out to see if this film that I was so passionate about when I was 20 years old held up over time or if the 40 year old me would find it silly or dated. To my surprise I was blown away all over again by how ridiculously great it is. The smart stylized dialog, the music, the starkness, the silences, the camera framing, all of the whacked out but fully human characters, Martin Donovan and Adrienne Shelly so young and beautiful. As the final, simple, beautiful, frame of the film disappeared and credits rolled I was left sitting on the couch in a state of shocked amazement at the effect this film still has on me. Hands down my favorite movie of all time!

Hal Hartley's signature film

[george.schmidt · 23 April 2003]

TRUST (1990) *** Adrienne Shelly and Martin Donovan shine as a pregnant, naive teen who is befriended by troubled loner-type, respectively, in this sharply written satire/black comedy/and at times gimmicky bloodless acting (but that's also the warped appeal) that brings into question the monotony of dreary jobs, thankless relationships and bad parenting. Directed by Hal Hartley in his signature solemnity.

This is What You Can Make in 11 Days

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 7 June 2015]

When high school dropout Maria Coughlin (Adrienne Shelly) announces her pregnancy to her parents, her father drops dead on the floor. Her mother kicks her out of the house and her boyfriend dumps her, so Maria is left alone and homeless.

Martin Donovan really excels here and represents a type of person some of us know all too well. The man who rebels against the world, but in a sort of passive-aggressive, nihilistic fashion. It is interesting that this film came out in 1990, as the 90s were very much a nihilistic decade for film and music, and the character of Matthew Slaughter sort of anticipates that.

Hal Hartley may not be as well known as Jim Jarmusch or (early) Richard Linklater, but he has that same independent vibe. He has done here for Long Island what Linklater did for Austin.

Unusual characters brilliantly portrayed

[timmy_501 · 10/10 · 8 May 2010]

Trust opens with a stereotypical ignorant high school girl named Maria making petty demands of her parents and deliberately scandalizing them by explaining her future plans which involve marrying her jock boyfriend. She explains that he'll have to because she's pregnant and then leaves before she has a chance to realize that the news has caused her father to have a heart attack.

Since she does leave we have a while longer to become familiar with her before her perfect world begins to crumble around her. She carelessly goes clothes shopping during the day and only stops by the school she is supposed to be attending to talk to her boyfriend. He's more worried about the upcoming football game than anything she can tell him; news of her pregnancy only angers him and he makes it clear that he won't take care of the child. Things get progressively worse for her as she's kicked out of her house, has a conversation with an insane woman, and is nearly raped before retreating to a quiet street where she attempts to drown her sorrow in a six pack.

At this point Maria happens to meet Matthew, a gifted machinist who is so unsatisfied with his foolish employers and demanding father that he has developed a nasty violent streak. This initially seems to be an excellent match as the newly disillusioned Maria has become just as averse to nonsense as Matthew. The two slowly get to know each other and each one realizes that the other satisfies an innate desire that has previously gone unmet. Unfortunately circumstances keep arising to drive them apart and Matthew puts his trust in the wrong people.

Writer/director Hal Hartley infuses this film with a uniquely cynical wit that meshes perfectly with the material to create a work that is at once funny and emotionally engaging. The film also is thematically satisfying in that it explores the attitudes of the characters and how those attitudes have been developed. Specifically, we see how the trust characters place in other people, particularly family members, is abused and subverted and how this has shaped various characters over time. Trust is one of those rare films that not only encapsulates a certain time and place but also presents some genuine truths about human behavior and offers a consistently engaging viewing experience.

Trussed...

[Xstal · 6/10 · 12 October 2020]

Presenting characters who have all metaphorically tied themselves up, become knotted and rely on familial structures that are equally tied, tethered, suffocating and entwined. Not dangerous but sincere, induces a little numbing around the temporal lobe that is unlikely to retain any permanency but, as a result, will not linger too long to merit too serious a recollection in the future.

minor spoiler: great performance by Shelley and Donovan!

[erostratus-amazon · 10/10 · 29 November 2006]

Watching Hal Hartley's Trust for the second time 15 years later is exhilarating and somewhat disappointing. The characters are contrived and overintellectualized, and the conflict between parent and child here doesn't ring true (it seems to have the usual bitterness of college sophomores). Also the gestures and dialogue are stagy and slightly pretentious. Never mind that; you're missing the point. The film is not aiming at realism; it's aiming at conveying the emotional turbulence of young adult struggling to break free from the orbit of their parents.

Plot and incident flow naturally and often end up in unexpected places. There's lots of surprises, many of them comic. The film is about throwing characters together and watching how they react. The moment where the girl messes up the kitchen makes you wonder, how will the father react? The dialogue (reminiscient of Stoppard or Mamet) is curt and enigmatic and challenging. And always entertaining. People are learning from one another and changing..possibly improving. The movie Trust is less about plot than a certain attitude toward life--how much trust should we place in family, friends, peers? People don't have secrets or histories; they have metaphysical complaints and frustrated dreams. Martin Donovan and Adrienne Shelly are not only young charismatic actors, they act and react with subtlety and focus. Yet both have chemistry with one another and manage to sustain this intensity without going too far (Kudos to Mr. Hartley for not aiming

for sympathy or making motives too transparent). Donovan seems adept at playing characters about to boil under, but manage to hold it in (He's at his best in the film Surviving Desire,).

Adrienne, that moment when you put on your glasses at the end was a great cinematic moment. Hopeful, assertive and maybe even cocky. Your fans will always have that moment to remember you by.

If you liked Trust, you'd also enjoy: Hartley's Surviving Desire (although it's more arty), Jill Sprecher's 13 Conversations about One Thing and her earlier film, Clockwatchers).

"You can't know something unless you experience it first."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 15 August 2018]

This is the kind of movie that would have resonated more with me when I was a lot younger, say in my Twenties or Thirties. The story it tells is effectively done, involving real people in credible situations, who in many ways find themselves dysfunctional in parts of their lives. I thought the actions of mother Jean Coughlin (Rebecca Nelson) to cause a rift between her daughter Maria (Adrienne Shelly) and Matthew (Martin Donovan) were especially despicable. Why that scenario didn't blow up was a question mark I had coming out of the picture. The other head scratcher was when Robert Howard (Jeff Howard) fainted dead away at the sight of Maria the first time at the train station - Why? There was no apparent reason for that to have occurred.

So there appeared to be a few holes in the story that could have been handled a bit better. I also considered the maturity level Maria possessed for being a high school dropout, she handled herself well in conversation with the much better educated Matthew. Particularly when she related to the idea of respect, admiration and trust as being synonymous with love. She did that without the thesaurus which I thought was significantly above her grade level. I could almost relate to Matthew's obsession with quality control but he took things too far at his workplace. It seemed to me that he could have upgraded his career choices by moving on to a more ethical firm. He wouldn't have needed a hand grenade to do it.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from the story - I still would like to know what would have happened if Matthew followed through on trusting Maria to catch him off the ledge. The distraction that occurred was just a bit too convenient to take their minds off the matter at hand.

Still the best of Hartley's movies IMO

[Treacle-A · 10/10 · 6 July 2015]

I first saw 'Trust' in 1991 in an outdoor cinema tent at Glastonbury Festival. I came in late, had no idea of the title, the plot, or had a clue who any of the actors were, but from the second I sat down I was in love. The style of it, the characters, the story, but above all the dialogue changed the way I thought about movies forever. Later, when I got interesting in writing for TV and film those ideas continued to shape me. I love deadpan humour, lengthy soliloquies that read like Beckett and I love love LOVE stories about simple people and small lives. They will always be the realest, the deepest felt and the most heartwarming of all.

24 years (and a hell of a lot of movies) later, 'Trust' still remains one of my favourites. I felt genuinely bereft when Adrienne Shelley was murdered, especially since 'Waitress' had also made it into my top twenty. I continue to seek out movies like 'Trust' that stick in my soul and never de-tangle. And I thank God for Hal Hartley every Thanksgiving.

Trusting

[sol- · 7/10 · 20 April 2016]

Marketed with the promotional tagline "A slightly twisted comedy", that is not even the half of it as this Hal Hartley film focuses on an unconventional and entirely non-sexual romance that develops between a pregnant teenager and a social misfit twice her age. Both characters curiously defy the initial impressions that they give. As the teen, Adrienne Shelly seems bratty and brainless, wearing heavy makeup and disrespecting her parents, however, she gradually becomes more dowdy after her parents and her boyfriend both reject her upon learning about the pregnancy. As the social misfit, Martin Donovan (no, not the director of 'Apartment Zero'; another Martin Donovan) seems dangerous and prone to violent outbursts, but totally submissive when around his bathroom sanity obsessed father, Donovan also shows us a beating human heart beneath the anger. The film takes a bit too long to bring the two characters together (it is a full 26 minutes before their separate plots converge), but there is a lot to like in how they trust each other for different reasons; her for his sincerity and workplace integrity and him for her genuine warmth. Hartley unnecessarily complicates things with a stolen baby subplot that awkwardly pops up every now and again without offering any real perspective on how Shelley feels about her own baby to-be. In the scenes where Hartley just lets his characters interact with each other though, the film rarely skips a beat. Rebecca Nelson is also very good as the girl's mother who goes from resenting Donovan to trying to manipulate who he likes for her own advantage.

It's so determined to be odd, eventually indifference sets in...

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 24 September 2005]

Pregnant, unwed teen (Adrienne Shelly) falls unexpectedly into relationship with brilliant-but-stubborn young man (Martin Donovan) who's on the fast track to nowhere. You gotta credit director Hal Hartley with fashioning a bizarre, yet puzzlingly amusing scenario cast with unknown actors who tap right into his offbeat spirit. Still, trippy, edgy comedies like this often pummel their one-note to death, and the film's incidental charms are nearly overshadowed by the filmmaker's inherent smugness. The plot is practically non-existent, but fans of quirky dark humor will find a lot to cherish here. ** from ****

I Really Like This Movie!

[dennisdread_2000 · 10/10 · 24 October 2005]

I stumbled across this movie about midway through on IFC one morning...I was hooked! I couldn't look away. I had to see it from the beginning, all the way through, as it was meant to be viewed. I studied the IFC programming schedule well into the future in order to see this movie again. Eventually I did. Several times. And even now I'm still haunted by it. Some films don't stand up to repeated viewings very well however this one does.

This movie has moved me as much as any movie ever has in my life. Do a friend a favor, turn em on to this one, but don't tell them ANYTHING about it beforehand(need that really be said?), let em experience it for themselves. My next goal is to own this movie in some form or another one day. It'll be a welcome addition to my collection.

wonderful, horrible, mystical, hyper-realistic ride of a movie

[thurst · 10/10 · 22 December 1998]

This is the film that made the film world (well, a tiny corner of the film world, anyway) sit up and take notice of an up-and-coming filmmaker named Hal Hartley. Trust exists as a unique little motion picture, a movie which creates a world which manages to be both ridiculous and real at the same time, a mixture mirroring the absurdity which, often times, dominates the structure of actual life. The most remarkable thing about this movie, though, is its ability to craft a charmingly sweet love story in the center out of what seems to be utter emptiness. Martin Donavan and Adrienne Shelley portray two characters, the likes of which I would challenge you to find carbon copies of anywhere in celluloid history. They are real, honest sketches of humanity, and with them Hartley is able to explore why and how we fall in love, and whether you agree with his interpretation of what is love, his love story comes across loud and clear. I once had a professor who claimed there are no new stories to be told. Well, I think Mr. Hartley may have stumbled across one...no, make that, calculatedly made one.

One Of My Fave Rave Indie Films!

[newnoir · 14 July 2000]

I discovered Hal Hartley with this film and with "Simple Men". This is Hartley's greatest work and everything else since this has been second rate in my opinion. Friends have told me how much I'm like the character of Matthew, all that seething anger at the world and all.

The music, writing, acting, direction all add up to a wonderful and weird film experience. Hal Hartley's films are not for everyone and that's the way a lot of us Hartley fans like it. They are almost like a little private club of people who well...get it. Some people get his films, most don't. I've seen lots of people walk out in droves in the slower parts of some of his films. Case in point the Japanese dance scene in 'Flirt'. His films are filled with deadpan humor that reminds me a lot of the old 'Dragnet' TV series style of acting. Go see Trust and have a great time at the movies!

Adrienne Shelly magnetic

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 18 September 2016]

Maria Coughlin (Adrienne Shelly) announces to her parents her plans to quit high school, pregnancy, and intention to marry her boyfriend Anthony. Her boyfriend refuses and her father drops dead soon from the shock. Her mother kicks her out of the house. She meets Matthew Slaughter (Martin Donovan) who takes her in. He's an electronics repairman who hates TV's cultural influence. He quits his job and fights with his father. He steals a hand grenade from his veteran father. Maria and Matthew start a relationship based on respect, admiration, and trust = love.

Hal Hartley's mannered dialogue is similar to Wes Anderson but it doesn't have his later polish. This doesn't have quite the comedic tone needed. What it has is the magnetic Adrienne Shelly. She keeps this movie alive when it starts to sputter with its insistent style. There also has Edie Falco as the older sister. Hal Hartley definitely has a style and seems intent on using it no matter what.

Unique Gem of a movie

[tomrito · 10/10 · 13 December 2003]

Trust me, this is one of the best made movies of all times. I cannot believe that more people don't know about this movie. It has a great story, brilliant acting and it's really funny. This is like the best Inde movie ever. But just see it for yourself and if you like it tell someone about it, because although it is a small film, it is great American art and should be recognized.

Comforting like a good sad balled...

[oneguyrambling · 6/10 · 7 November 2010]

Probably one of the least seen films that I have discussed over the last 6 months, this was a movie that I remember vividly as a teen, though in more glowing terms than I now see it.

Trust was made by indie filmmaker Hal Hartley, who was renowned for his dialogue heavy films exploring regular people going about their lives. Now that I revisit this some 20 years later I think that perhaps his work also merits the dreaded "quirky" tag.

The film starts with a domestic between a young girl and her Dad, the scene culminates with the Dad keeling over dead of a heart attack.

The girl is one of two leads, her name is Maria, she is apparently high school age, is pregnant to the quarterback who she now wants nothing to do with, and not wanted at home as her mother blames her for the death of her dad. She also looks a lot like a duck.

The other lead is Matthew, played by Martin Donovan in deadpan mode. He is a marginally psychotic TV repairman who is bullied by his single Dad and carries a grenade around with him.

Real people dealing with real issues.

There is much more of a plot than Maria and Matthew meet, share their problems and decide to make a go of things together, the action occurs as they progress through and come into contact with the various other characters in the film.

No-one seems to get along, Maria's mum hates her, and later Matthew. Matthew's dad hates him, and everyone else it seems. Matthew is an angry loner who hates everyone and everyone hates, which leaves Maria and her unborn child as the victim of a tug of war.

Everyone in the film seems to be 5% off-normal, not quite enough to be a caricature, but more than enough that they could all aptly be described as weird (at least) by normal people.

In this vein Hartley is like Kevin Smith (really), he puts people that you might almost convince yourself that could exist, and in fact you might know someone who really reminds of one of them, only he fills every role with these one-in-a-million characters, so you have a town full of people that would ordinarily be the nut-job.

The dialogue is scripted down to the nth degree, which unfortunately leads to conversations that alternate between snappy and robotic, at times in the same scene. At times it is almost like the characters are starting their response before the other sentence is finished.

This film is most notable to me as being the first film I can remember seeing that had a character say the C-word, and a female character at that. If this sounds juvenile it is because when I watched the film I was, so it was a genuine surprise to me to see such a taboo word bandied about in an art house film.

Even now that I watch this movie and see that I perhaps was looking at my memories with rose coloured glasses, there are moments that are both calculated that still have an impact, you know that the director is trying to scream "this is important" and want to ignore it but it still works.

Like a good sad ballad, you know it is simply trying to manipulate your emotions, but turn off the lights and crank it loud and you can't help but caught up in it. Only Trust is a 90+ minute movie, it's hard to be "swept along" for that long when everything is so mechanical.

Final Rating - 6.5 - 10. As I said at times it works, there are just too many dead spots in between those times.

If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com

simply brilliant!

[Prigmatus · 9/10 · 7 March 2014]

I saw this one when I was working in a small movie theater as a student back in 1991 in Leuven, Belgium. I cannot explain why but this little gem of a movie touched me and I fell in love with all the characters (specially the main ones played by Adrienne Shelly and Martin Donovan), the modest soundtrack (loved the synthesizer score at the end), the dialogs, the humor mixed with social and realistic situations. Now, 23 years later, I had the chance to rediscover this movie by accident through a local internet movie site and honestly, after having seen hundreds of movies in all genres during the passed years, it still remains my favorite movie of all times. Thank you, Mr Hartley! One from the heart!

David Mamet v. The Coen Bros.

[bobbobwhite · 6/10 · 15 September 2005]

In a fantasy world, if Mamet and the Coen Bros. fought for control over making this 1990 film, it would be Mamet who won but he would include a lot of the Coens' work in it. That is the best description of this film's character and will be easily understood by readers knowing the work of both. It's not nearly as good as good Mamet or the Coens, but it has a similar appeal, especially in the deadpan Coen-like humor and in the short, snappy Mamet-like dialog that people don't speak in real life. Maybe just a little Buster Keaton in it too.

The story was unremarkable and character driven and I prefer plot driven stories, but the odd way the characters interacted made for some funny moments. Not Coen Bros., but not bad.

It was a slice of life combination of the conventional and quirky, depressive and optimistic, sad and funny, psychotic and realistic, good hearts and those not so good. The interplay between these opposites when done well are memorable. This film fell short of memorable, but it was nicely goofy and off-beat and a pretty effective overall effort for a low budget indy.

The terrific Edie Falco of the Sopranos had a small part and showed why she has done so well in later years.

Positive review

[mgchainsaw · 8/10 · 15 January 2001]

I caught this movie on the television network Bravo. I didn't see the very beginning but found myself glued to the machinations of the Matthew Slaughter character. I felt the performance of Martin Donavan was wonderful and I enjoyed the odd way the characters spoke with one another. The lines were rapid-fire, almost like "Moonlighting", but with a different nuance which I can't quite put my finger on. The movie was funny, but the best word for it is "interesting". It truly was a movie unlike any other I had seen, with a Coen Brothers sense of humor. I wish I knew more people who had seen it, because it is a movie that warrants discussion afterward.

Beware it can take some viewing for non-US viewers.

[tonypeacock-1 · 6/10 · 11 May 2023]

Well this film has taken nigh on two weeks and three sittings to finally get through. It is a 1990 film that is meant to satirize US lifestyle.

Director Hal Hartley tells us the story of misfits Maria (Adrienne Shelly) and Matthew (Martin Donovan). Recognise them? Me neither. Maria is a teenage brat for want of a better word who announces to her distraught family at the start of the film she is dropping out of school to have a baby. Unfortunately her sports mad boyfriend doesn't take to kindly to the news and dumps her. Any sane person would think this was horrific but Maria's spoiled brat behaviour does cause her despairing dad to have a heart trauma and die. She is thrown out of home for her actions. Meanwhile cut to a character called Matthew (Martin Donovan) who lives alone with his overpowering dad and gets through jobs like there is no tomorrow. Matthew and Maria end up meeting up......oh I give up! The satirical comedy I didn't find particularly funny. The age differences between Matthew and Maria and their struggles with power crazy parents.

Dull and unengaging

[grantss · 4/10 · 21 June 2020]

Maria has just dropped out of school, news which literally kills her father, and her boyfriend has dumped her after she revealed she was pregnant. Matthew has, in a fit of pique, just quit his job and his aggressive, obsessive-compulsive father keeps hounding him about household chores. Both are at wits end when they meet. They seem ideally suited to each other but things aren't that simple.

Underwhelming. Based on the IMDb rating and reviews of this movie I was expecting a wonderfully irreverent dark comedy. It's irreverent, but that's about it.

The main problem is that the main characters are unlikeable. Both have a bratty, uncaring personality which makes them annoying. Yes, both are victims too - Maria of her selfish boyfriend and Matthew of his overbearing father - but much of what they do isn't explained or justified by that.

Maria's character does become more sympathetic as the movie goes on but Matthew was never worth supporting.

All this adds up to limited character engagement.

Throw in a plot that is quite lethargic and this movie is a bit of a grind to get through. There are some good moments though, especially comedic ones, but those can't save the film.