Trust

I approached "Trust" with some trepidation. I let it set on the Sky Box for months, having recorded it in the summer of 2018 but not actually coming round to watching it until Easter 2019. Most of the trepidation came because I'd seen some lukewarm reviews and I had seen "All The Money In The World" that year, so was already familiar with the story. I'm glad I gave it a chance though, as with a bit of distance from the film, I found the series pretty enjoyable.

The grandson of the world's Richest Man, John-Paul Getty (Donald Sutherland) is kidnapped in Italy, but his kidnappers have not accounted for the ruthlessness of the old man, who refuses to pay the ransom. Whilst young John III's mother Gail (Hilary Swank) and Getty's "fixer" Fletcher (Brendan Fraser) attempt to determine what's happened, and even whether the kidnapping is genuine, the Italians that have him are becoming increasingly frustrated and desperate.

I think I preferred "Trust" to "All The Money In the World" as the 10 episode scope allowed for a much more detailed look at the case. A deeper investigation of the family dynamics ahead of the kidnapping and a closer look at the mechanics of the crime family that held their valuable hostage are a couple of the deeper cuts. I did worry ahead of watching the series that it would be pretty dry, but it's infused with a sense of pace, and is very well mixed with the editing and cutting in of music of the time. Performances are, across the board, excellent and much credit should go to Harris Dickinson, who is the only actor in every episode, playing John-Paul Getty III, the victim of the kidnapping. Despite his early bohemian wastrel ways, you never lose feelings for him and feel some of the peril he goes through.

It does take one huge risk, allowing Brendan Fraser's character to directly address the audience during two of the episodes. What might be jarring switch actually works quite well, as it allows to show to unload a lot of the context, and the wider resolution on you, without becoming to tiresome or protracted.

Maybe it's just that my expectations were particularly low, but I really enjoyed "Trust" - an unexpected treat.

I watched this on Netflix, and although it wasn't a Netflix production it follows the Netflix formula: ten hour long episodes per season. There was no need for this to be ten hours long. There was enough story to fill three, maybe four, episodes. The first couple of episodes were quite good. But then, true to the Netflix formula, there is an extraordinary amount of filler, like the butler storyline and one episode is spent almost exclusively on covering the confirmation of the son of one of the kidnappers.

I am sick and tired of the "slow burn" fad. Making something progress slowly does not automatically make it good.

That said, the acting is good, especially Sutherland and Brendan Fraser. Nice to see that he's back in the game. My main gripe is that the actor playing the main character, who is supposed to be 16 years old, looks far too old, like he's in his mid 20's.

If you have ten hours to spare, this is a good series to watch. Although I recommend having the fast forward button at the ready.

On a side note, one of the locations in the movie is the restaurant Sabatini in Trastevere, Rome. Whatever you do, do NOT go to that restaurant. They are famous for scamming tourists by adding "service" charges printed with minimal letters hidden away in the menu. Wildly expensive and garbage quality, a true tourist trap.

Every episode reminds you that the dialogue is well, pretty much fact - but I have a hard time not believing the show took extreme liberties with the facts. That said, I definitely enjoyed the series very much. It's one of those, "OK just one more...OK just one more then I'm going to bed. OK just one more..." things that keeps you up too late. Donald Sutherland is GREAT as J. Paul Getty and even resembles the original JPG. I'm going to give Donald a .362 score as related in baseball batting averages for the entire season. The next heavy hitter is Brendan Fraser as the likable Fletcher Chace, with a BA of .340 and a lot of dingers. Luca Marinelli as Primo is a SOLID 3rd baseman with a strong arm hitting .309 with zeero errors. Fine actor. Silas Carson as the butler is impeccable, a .325 hitter and an errorless season. Harris Dickinenson as JPG III was a touted first round pick but ended up hitting .234 with too many strikeouts. Much of the show takes place in Italy, where they speak Italian - so I read what they were saying. I'd say the whole Italian cast did a fantastic job, most outstanding - Primo - see above. Beautifully filmed, most scenes take place at The Mansion or in Italy. Watch it, you will like.

I recently saw the Ridley Scott version of this story (you know, the one that does not have Kevin Spacey in it any more) and I just had to post and say, this just totally blows that out of the water.

That was a mediocre movie, not even beautiful, which is the least I'd expect from Ridley, but this is just fantastic, on every level.

The sheer charisma of this film-making is an utter joy to behold and evident across the direction, the performances, thumps out of the soundtrack, every part of this production is innovative, dazzling, fizzing.

My only slight, slight criticism is that the 4th wall breaking stuff from Brendan Fraser is too inconsistent and should have either been ditched or made much more of, more often. I guess they thought it was gonna be a big 'feature' when they were writing it and filming it, but then in the cutting room found they just had so much gold, they just didn't know what to do with it all!

Jump on the ride here, its fab and you wont regret it.

The first episode was a very well balanced blend of action, character development, humor, unpredictability and intensity. Also great scenery, and a nice incorporation of the culture of the 1970's.

I have absolutely no idea where this series is going, but it's easy to get invested in the characters - something that is often overlooked in new series.