Trust

"A slightly twisted comedy."

1990 1h 46m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 171

DramaComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After being thrown away from home, pregnant high school dropout Maria meets Matthew, a highly educated and extremely moody electronics repairman. The two begin an unusual romance built on their sense of mutual admiration and trust.

“A slightly twisted comedy.”

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Cast

Adrienne Shelly
Maria Coughlin
Martin Donovan
Matthew Slaughter
Rebecca Nelson
Jean Coughlin (as Merritt Nelson)
John MacKay
Jim Slaughter
Edie Falco
Peg Coughlin
Gary Sauer
Anthony
Matt Malloy
Ed
Suzanne Costollos
Rachel

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hal Hartley
Writers: Hal Hartley
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hal Hartley, shot by Michael Spiller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Phillip Reed. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nick Gomez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Adrienne Shelly and Martin Donovan and Rebecca Nelson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A slightly twisted comedy.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hal Hartley directs. Michael Spiller behind the camera. Phillip Reed scores. Nick Gomez cuts. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Hal Hartley, shot by Michael Spiller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Phillip Reed. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nick Gomez shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Adrienne Shelly and Martin Donovan and Rebecca Nelson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A slightly twisted comedy.".
9IMDB entry: tt0103130 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Spiller
Original score: Phillip Reed
Editing: Nick Gomez
Production design: Daniel Ouellette
Costume design: Claudia Brown
Makeup / hair: Judy Chin
Sound: Reilly Steele
Stunt coordinator: Phil Neilson
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $700,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Trust (1990)

Awards

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Hal Hartley

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2023-08-03
★ 8/10
A great film that deserves to be reviewed and revisited today. I've said many times that a movie always needs a good story, and this movie is an example of that. The strength of the plot, the way in which it captures our attention and curiosity, the way in which the characters were created, developed, and are able to win our sympathy, everything is combined with an excellent work by the actors and direction. This film seems to me a little forgotten nowadays, but it deserves a review for its enormous quality. In fact, the whole story revolves around trust in others and in ourselves. Maria, a young teenager who seems determined to stand out in an extravagant way, has just become pregnant with a boyfriend who really doesn't like her and only cares about his personal priorities. Abandoned by him, she causes her father's death unintentionally, after a hard fight, and ends up taking refuge in friendship with the problematic Matthew, another teenager, very mature and formal for his age, owner of an above-average culture, which has already had several problems with the law for not conforming to the world around them, where the average reigns and TV exerts an excessive influence on people. Somehow, they come to understand each other and see the good in each other. The film is not a comedy, not for me. There is something dramatic about the film and the way things unfold, with the two central characters having to go through a cathartic process in order to become better and finally be able to love and be loved. The issue of family fragmentation and breakdown is also very present throughout the film, where we see failed marriages, defeated by the lack of love and understanding, the monotony of the days and the inconstancy of feelings. Hal Hartley's direction does an excellent job with little (I don't know, but I got the feeling that the film had a very limited budget). The cinematography is good, and the sets are extraordinarily believable. However, these are just details when you look at the extraordinary work of the actors. Martin Donovan, known to all of us, is in excellent form here and leaves a remarkable record of his talent. Next to him is the young and talented Adrienne Shelly, who was stolen from us too soon and too brutally, as we know. The actress is charismatic and manages to give us the greatest film of her career. Giving them strength, we have good participation from Rebecca Nelson and John MacKay.

Production companies