The Trust Review: Cage is Comedy Gold

THE TRUST is an odd quirky comedy/thriller starring Nicolas Cage as Jim Stone and Elijah Wood as David Waters. The plot is centred on two dirty cops who stumble onto a mysterious vault and set out to steal whatever’s inside. As the film plays out, you can smell the small budget and indie on it and it gives the film a bit of character. As you progress you quickly begin to realise that THE TRUST is actually a full on black comedy. Although it is somewhat generically plotted, there is one thing above all else that this film delivers on, a healthy dose of Cage.

A nice serving of Cage is something I have been waiting a long time to see. Having seen over 90% of Cage’s films, and being an ardent fan of his style of acting, there has been a noticeable lack of good ‘Cageosity’ in his newer releases. For the past decade he has been wasted on many generic action flicks with no charm or substance. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of Cage’s earlier action films such as THE ROCK, but with films like SEASON OF THE WITCH and TRESPASS (perhaps his worst film), he has been going through a long slump.

THE TRUST’s greatest asset is it lets Cage be Cagey and this gives the film, which might have otherwise been forgettable, a massive injection of charm. Finally, Cage is once again being allowed to act a little kooky and it is intentional and controlled. His performance in THE TRUST harks back to the days of RAISING ARIZONA and LEAVING LAS VEGAS (which landed him his Academy Award for Best Actor). Great things happen when Cage is allowed to let loose a little and it takes a good director (or two) to know how to bring that out in the right way. 

I think that is exactly what Werner Herzog did when Cage played Terrence McDonagh in BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS (2009), and it is one of Cage’s best performances because of it. I think the directors Alex and Ben Brewer did the same thing in THE TRUST; they utilised Cage perfectly and reaped the rewards.

Elijah Wood’s character is basically the straight man for Cage to bounce his eccentricity off of. Although much of the story is told through his perspective if you took Cage away the entire film would falter and we would be left with something utterly charmless. In other words, if you haven’t already gotten the point by now let me drill it in for you, the film IS Cage.

I was also eager to see Jerry Lewis, one of the greatest comedians of the century, in THE TRUST. Alas he has about three lines of dialogue and is gone for the rest of the film, which is a shame. 

The first half of the film is stronger than the second, and THE TRUST begins to stagnate a little towards the end. For the Brewer Brothers’ feature film directorial debut, The Trust is a very cleanly and smoothly directed film. I suppose that isn’t too surprising given their experience directing music videos. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next and hope they up the ante and run wild with wackiness in their future films.

Overall, what you are left with is a pretty charming black comedy, one that keeps you laughing and ultimately leaves you satisfied. THE TRUST IS an absolute must watch for any Cage fan.

Verdict: 

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