Trust
2010 · Directed by David Schwimmer
Original language: English
- crime
- drama
- thriller
The story
A suburban family is torn apart when fourteen-year-old Annie meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be. Shocked into disbelief, her parents are shattered by their daughter's actions and struggle to support her as she comes to terms with what has happened to her once innocent life.
What it’s like
Cool suburban daylight and warm, lived-in kitchens give this its look, with handheld camera that stays close to faces and a muted, grey-green palette that tightens as the family's world narrows. Screens glow blue-white in dim bedrooms, and the chat windows and phone calls become a quiet source of dread. The score is sparse and restrained, with long stretches of ambient room tone and domestic noise. The pace is steady and conversational, with the emotional weight built through arguments, silences and small failures of communication rather than set pieces. The tone is grim, anxious and raw, following a mother and father who swing between disbelief, anger and grief as they try to hold their daughter together. Intensity is high: the sexual abuse of a fourteen-year-old is central, and a rape is depicted and its aftermath explored with real unflinching seriousness, though the camera largely avoids gratuitous detail. Violence is limited but the emotional harm is harsh and sustained. Not gentle. For viewers who want a serious, difficult drama about family and abuse, and can sit with its subject.
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