Le grain de sable

I love the way British do mysteries, and I love Nathaniel Parker, so I was eager to watch "Trust," a 2000 film.

A "brief" (attorney)Anne Travers played by Caroline Goodall finds that she has to serve as her husband Michael Mitcham's (Mark Strong) attorney when he is arrested for the murder of a prostitute. Unfortunately the case is filled with obstacles, not the least of which is that Anne finds out about an incident before they were married, and some affairs since. Anne is no saint herself - she's sleeping with his best friend, Andrew (Parker); however, she has ended it. Andrew, however, is pretty persistent. The evidence against Michael is mounting. Then devastating surprise testimony all but ruins the case.

Very good, if too long given the script, with red herrings and a neat twist. With something like this, I find it's best not to analyze the plot too much unless I really loathe it and need to find something wrong. Otherwise I just buy into it.

I do agree with other reviewers on this site that it ran long and that the characters were not very likable. However, I liked it. Strong had the strongest role and delivered; Nathaniel Parker was sexy and hard to read, which was totally appropriate; and Goodall gives an emotional performance.

It kept me watching, that's for sure.

What at first appears to be an excellent 'whodunnit' in the best British style, with pretty good performances all round, 'Trust' carefully constructs an interesting scenario in a very plausible step-by-step process which keeps the viewer glued to the screen. A woman's body is spewed out of the back of a refuse truck onto one of those great urban rubbish dumps; she is thought to be a prostitute.......but is she?

The film is up to the level of and comparable with Diarmuid Lawrence's highly recommendable 'The Echo' (1998) (TV) (qv) - until the final scenes, that is. As the denouément is sputtered out, the totally implausible outcome renders all that has gone before to the level of a cheap Agatha Christie story.

Really fine acting. Especially Nathaniel Parker. I was sure I knew who did it. I didn't. Did the author write the script and lose interest the last 10 minutes? The ending doesn't fit. It is like someone who wasn't familiar with the story wrote the ending. Why didn't the killers actions leave tell tale signs of guilt? While the ending is implausable and disappointing it doesn't negate the quality of the performance. It just leaves the watcher frustrated by a really odd ending that doesn't make any sense.

Fine movie. Worthy of 2-1/2 hours of viewing. Just too bad the ending was so poorly crafted. Almost like putting a dill pickle on top of an ice cream sundae. What one wants is a cherry on top. Something that fits and compliments.

Residing in the states, unfamiliar with most of the actors. I have seen a few shows with Nathaniel Parker and have enjoyed all of his performances. He always comes across as a likeable character.

This is a good English movie.The plot was well thought out,and the standard of acting was high,which you would expect from the cast of seasoned personnel.My only complaint was that the movie seemed to be stretched out and maybe could have run for 20 minutes less.