THE TRUST (2016)

The Trust (2016)
Directed by: Alex Brewer, Benjamin Brewer
Written by: Adam Hirsch, Benjamin Brewer
Starring: Elijah Wood, Nicolas Cage, Sky Ferreira

THE TRUST (2016)
Directed by Alex Brewer and Benjamin Brewer
The Trust is out at cinemas and VOD 27th May

Fed up with their job, Stone and Waters, two Las Vegas police officers, join forces to investigate a suspicious drug bust which leads them to a secret, mysterious vault. What’s hidden inside could be the biggest find of their careers but it will take expert planning and incredible trust for the duo to succeed in their plan to discover the secret booty.

THE TRUST is a crime thriller starring a moustached Nicolas Cage as long-in-the-tooth officer Stone and Elijah Wood as the stoner junior officer, Waters. With Stone getting nowhere in his job, essentially hitting a brick wall with his superiors especially where the case for new technology is concerned, it seems like the end of the road. Sick and tired of teaching rookie officers, a chance glance of a bail slip indicating a $200,000 cash bail was paid for the release of a drug dealer convinces Stone that something much bigger is behind the scenes of the small time crook. Roping in gullible officer Waters, who has nothing better to do than sleeping with hookers, Stone plans to discover what’s really being hidden and why the drug dealer is needed out of prison so badly.

THE TRUST plays out much like a heist film with the police duo doing surveillance, attaining cash to fund the project and planning out how to break into the mysterious vault. Though it’s a serious affair to the officers concerned, it isn’t without its black comedy highlights as Stone often pranks Waters and is generally quite buffoonish when not cold-bloodedly shooting people in the head. Their relationship is the main focus of the movie, how they react to one another and how they trust each other in order for their plan to proceed sucessfully. Putting their faith in the equipment and strategy they’ve laid out for themselves, should it go tits up then it could all be over for them, something which Waters, more than Stone, is concerned about.

The pacing of the film is quite fresh and modern with the scenes often jumping from one to the other. I don’t quite like this type of visual narrative as it often leaves me feeling as though I’ve missed out on important points of the film. It’s never dull though and keeps you glued to the screen thanks to the fine performances from Cage and Wood, with the former bringing a passionate performance to his middle-aged officer who yearns for a better, exciting life.

In many ways, THE TRUST feels a little stretched out yet at the same time hasn’t got enough filler. However, the story has just enough meat to it to capture the attention of the audience as we follow the duo’s journey from A to B. Discovering what exactly is going on alongside the characters brings an element of excitement as though we were there right with them. The choices they make will conjure up questions in the viewer’s own mind as to how they’d react if in the same position and seeing it all play out on screen is highly rewarding.

If crime movies with a dark sense of humour are your thing, then THE TRUST will offer up a thrilling experience indeed.

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