Trust

Unbelievably enough, writer/director Hal Hartley has basically remade his first film The Unbelievable Truth, and done a much better job the second time out. Again, Adrienne Shelly plays a spoiled brat who falls for an older twentysomething guy. The film opens with Maria Coughlin (Shelly) arguing with her father, and slapping him across the face. The slap precipitates a heart attack, and Maria's dad dies. Across the tracks, Matthew Slaughter (Martin Donovan) has his own problems with dad, only the slapping is reversed. Refusing to challenge his father, Martin obeys the tyrannical whims at home, and vents his rage on the job. An electronics technician who's picky, Martin complains about shoddy workmanship and refuses to work on TVs (which are beneath his contempt). After Maria's mother decides that Maria will pay for the rest of her life for killing her father (leaving Maria rather dead-ended, both career-wise and life-wise), she meets Martin, and the pair strike up a relationship built on respect, admiration, and trust (which, in Maria's opinion, equals love). Almost all of the dialogue is played deadpan--a difficult feat to pull off. But with the exception of a few scenes, Trust manages to succeed on the strength of its utterly wacky screenplay and admirable architecture (which isn't completely revealed until late in the film.) It also has one of my favorite lines of dialogue: Martin, responding to Maria's charge that wearing glasses makes her look like a librarian, says "I like librarians." Highly recommended. (R. Pitman) [Blu-ray Review—Jan. 29, 2013—Olive, 107 min., R, $29.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1990's Trust features a decent transfer and DTS-HD mono sound. Extras include an 'Upon Reflection' making-of segment featuring interviews conducted by actor DJ Mendel with costars Adrienne Shelly and Martin Donovan, director Hal Hartley, and assistant director Ted Hope (19 min.). Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for one of Hartley's most winning films.]