'Trust'

'Trust' (R) (3 1/2 stars)

Writers: Andy Berlin and Robert Festinger
Director: David Schwimmer
Starring: Liana Liberato, Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Chris Henry Coffey,
Viola Davis, Jason Clarke

The sobering and powerful "Trust" could scare any parents to death and when they leave the theatre it gives them and us a lot to think about. How safe is your child from the vast, wide Internet when there are predators out there feeding on their innocence and trust? This will not be an easy movie to watch for some, it even scared me and I am not a father.

Liana Liberato, in a breathtaking, mature and knockout performance, plays Annie. Annis has a nice family, great, cool understanding parents in Will and Lynn Cameron. She has a brother going off to college and a little sister. Annie spends a lot of time on the Internet talking to friends and chatting with a 16 year old boy from California. Her parents are pretty relaxed on their rules for this but can be strict also. As Annie chats with this boy, Charlie, he starts to change his story. Annie is a volleyball player and Charlie gives her advice because he plays. Then Charlie tells her he is really 20 and in college and then a graduate student 25 and out of college.

Charlie tells Annie he is coming to Chicago and wants to meet her. Annie is a smart girl but she is 14 and she is naive and wants attention and love. 14 is about the time we kids notice the opposite sex and Annie thinks Charlie is sweet so she meets him. I will not go into details but the meeting shocks Annie when she finds out that Charlie is much older, around 35. She is mad at first but this predator talks to her like she is someone, makes her feel wanted and desired. There are many times where we are screaming inside for Annie to get some sense.

Annie is assaulted and when her parents find out they become livid and the father wants to find this creep and kill him. "Trust" then could have gone the usual route where Annie goes to a therapist and the police start to hunt Charlie down. The greatness of "Trust" is it never goes down the predictable route. Annie actually still feels love for Charlie and actually defends him. She has found love for the first time, misses him and thinks age should not matter. The father is consumed in rage and he goes on web sites to track this man down. Annie becomes angry at her parents, she grows distant from her father. This are no easy solutions and I love that the screenplay is complicated in that way. You just can't say that Annie was assaulted and if the police find Charlie all will be right for everyone.

In this day when kids, heck even adults on dating sites chat with strangers, the ideal of meeting someone is downright bone chilling. There are people that are evil out there and prey on the weak and even succeed with smart girls like Annie. This movie is powerful, never seems to hit a false note and director David Schwimmer is excellent with his actors. The movie could have been more confidently put together, it doesn't flow sometime, but Schwimmer gets us really going and he never loses focus.

The performances are excellent and as Annie Liana Liberato is a revelation. She gives a mature performance that rivals Chloe Grace Moretz and Jennifer Lawrence. She is pitch perfect at playing Annie's smarts, vulnerable side and anger and hurt. At first she feels sympathy and love for Charlie but when she finds out Charlie has done this before to to her girls her anger is palpable. Clive Owen as the father Will gives the best performance of his career so far. He has a difficult role as the anger builds and builds in him and rage takes over. There is a powerful scene between him and Liberato at the end that will make you cry. There is also great support by the wonderful Catherine Keener as the mother and Jason Clarke (Chicago Code) as a cop on the case.

There is also a creepy performance by Chris Henry Coffey as Charlie and this is a bad guy that is played much better than it should be. Coffey is sweet to Liberato as Annie and we can actually see why Annie stays with him even after she finds out he is older. Coffey's performance is bone chilling and at the end we see a scene during the end credits. It will have you walking out of the theatre with even more things to startle you and make you think about. David Schwimmer I think was obviously influenced by Robert Redford's Powerful "Ordinary People) with it's small town look. Schwimmer makes this town a character like Redford did for Lake Forest, Illinois in People.

"Trust" is not a good time at the movies but the performances are wonderful and the story and execution are powerful. It does what all great dramas do, jolt us to reality and make us think and discuss afterward. I actually think "Trust" is a must see for parents to take their teenage kids to go see and for school groups to watch. This is a movie I will never forget and will haunt me for months.