The Trust: Big Trouble in Sin City

Another deep dive into Netflix has yielded a surprising little gem that starts lighter and funnier than I expected, before sliding into a mess of lies and death. Cage and Wood have great chemistry, bolstered by the sharp patter in the script. It's a steady snowball of tragedy whose plot isn't quite shocking but has plenty of unexpected turns around each corner.

Nicolas Cage is and always will be my favorite actor, his overall quirkiness and ability to play a complete different personality in every movie astounds me. In The Trust he is at his wackiest, this dark comedy thriller has him playing a deluded corrupt cop who has a plan to pull of a massive heist with his buddy cop played by Elijah Wood who has no idea of Cage's plan. Sounds like a great plot right? Despite this film getting below average reviews I still dived in and watched it, and I wasn't disappointed, this film managed to exceed the low expectations I went in with.

Surprisingly Cage and Wood had really good chemistry on screen together, the humor worked well when it was used and managed to get a few cheap laughs out of me. Cage has pumped out a lot of movies lately, most of which have been bad, but among the good ones that he has released such as 'Joe', this one I believe is up there with it. It managed to entertain right to the end.

The cinematography was pretty good, considering the budget was very low for the film. The acting was believable and had me engaged throughout the film. Whilst the film lost it's way in the last 20-30 minutes it still held it's self well as a solid B movie, with many different twists and turns thrown at the viewer it was very hard to predict how it was going to end.

The acting was on point for the entirety of the film with Cage and Elijah Wood both proving that they are still A grade actors. I believe that this one is another great entry into Cage's volatile filmography, it makes me happy to see that he still has faith in himself to bring out a good movie. If you are a fan of comedy/crime films, give this one a go!

Nicolas Cage is both the butt of movie jokes and a respectable multirole meme, since he's played everything from cult films to shitty flicks (including ridiculous evangelist ones). Lately, he's been very good in stuff like "Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans" (2009) and "Joe" (2014) which was a great modern example of cinéma vérité. In this wonky production, his smarmy opportunist character is even likable, but unsuccessfully flanked by Wood's reluctant partner in crime; while the small-time heist scheme is enjoyable, the succession of events turns out as anti-climactic and disappointing, without much fun or any sort of accomplishment. There's a lack of a third party and a good female lead, besides a heavier dose of irony. The Jerry Lewis cameo was a random surprise, but good for him: I thought he was dead.

Cage has been on a dry run for the past few years. Not only has he been starring in mediocre-bad movies, but he hasn't had a chance to be as fun and eccentric as we know he can be. It's like he's been on downers for a while, and now with The Trust, he finally got off those meds. This is the Nicolas Cage we love - silly, unpredictable, and hilarious. His antics aren't overbearing either thanks to co-lead Elijah Wood, who is the stoner counterpart to Cage and loosely serves as the voice of reason. The plot of The Trust is that Cage and Wood are cops who couldn't care less about their jobs and wind up stumbling across a drug operation that leads them to a secret vault. Then they decide to rob the place.

It starts off as an off-beat comedy. Cage and Wood share a brilliant rapport making it easy to gloss over the film's shortcomings. Then in the third act things become strangely dark and the fun lackadaisical tone drifts away. But until then, The Trust is a pleasant surprise with more depth than you'd think. The film is loaded with issues - the clunky narrative and inconsistent tone - but for Cage fans who are jonesing for a fix, The Trust will surely fill that void and at the very least provide a few good laughs.

I don't know why the idea of Nicholas Cage and Elijah Wood starring in a crime thriller together is funny to me, but it is. & for its first half, THE TRUST is funny. But what starts out as a silly neo-noir veers suddenly toward a darker realm as Cage's goofy Las Vegas police officer (echoes of his BAD LIEUTENANT role, but only echoes) reveals his cold-blooded determination to get at the contents of a secret vault at all costs, causing a rift to occur between him & Wood's softer character.

THE TRUST is a heist movie, & it's when the heist begins that the movie really starts to shine. It takes the heist in creative, unexpected & funny directions, & during these parts is an enjoyable & engrossing film. The film wraps up way too suddenly, & overall is quite forgettable, but for a good chunk in the middle it had a certain spark while these two ridiculous men dug themselves deeper into the hole they never wholly grasped they were getting themselves into in the first place. Cage is fun to watch, & though more restrained than usual, his wild energy crackles from him like static off a bedsheet. The dialogue & handling of situations is nicely offbeat, & the script remains ontrack the whole way.

THE TRUST is worth a watch if you like neo-noirs, heist movies, or Nick Cage doing his goofy thing. Or, like me, all of the above.