Trust Review: Not Even Sophie Turner’s Engaging Performance Can Elevate This Cumbersome Thriller

Trust begins with a promising setup: Lauren Lane (Sophie Turner) is a famous young actress dubbed the “America’s sweetheart”, thanks to her fan-favourite television role in the hit sitcom Meet the Johnsons. But her popularity took a hit when she became the hot topic of a celebrity hacking scandal, including a leaked photo of her positive pregnancy test. With the media and paparazzi keeping preying on her, she decides to take a break by retreating to a remote Airbnb house in the woods, and even brings along her dog, Georgie.

Unfortunately, the house happens to be equipped with hidden cameras that Marcus (Gianni Paolo) has set up for sinister purposes. He enjoys watching her every move, and if that’s not enough, his ex-convict uncle Darren (Rhys Coiro) and associate, Merg (Forrest Goodluck), are planning to break into the home and rob the place.

For a while there, I figured this was going to be a taut setup for a classic home invasion thriller, with Lauren forced to improvise and fight for survival. And so, she ends up in a boiler room, trapped inside with no way out. So far, so good. But only if Carlson Young, who directed Gigi Levangie’s screenplay, chooses to play it straight, mean and lean. Then again, this is the kind of movie that wants to be more than what it offers here. I admire the ambition, but the execution tells a different story altogether.

The biggest problem of this movie lies in its tonally inconsistent and erratic screenplay. It isn’t just about the break-in, but there’s also another story — one that is supposed to be the main focus in the first place: Lauren’s co-star, who plays the father Peter (Billy Campbell) in the sitcom, has something to do with the scandal. He even enlists his right-hand man, Kroft (Peter Mensah), to make sure everything is properly taken care of.

Wait, there’s more: A subplot revolving around a kind, animal lover, Loretta (Katey Sagal), who rescues Georgie after Lauren’s dog runs away at one point in the movie. All these multiple plot threads are meant to intertwine together, but too bad they feel more like a padded-out filler trying to justify its otherwise should-have-been-compact 90-minute runtime. The movie also throws in some flashbacks about Lauren and Peter’s past working together on the set of their famous sitcom, which is intended to flesh out their backstory.

And yet, everything feels tedious to the point it overstays its welcome. This makes me wonder if Levangie is patching things up as she writes her screenplay. The introduction of the trio of criminals could have been written off altogether since it functions more like an unnecessary subplot to fill in the blanks. It doesn’t help either when Young tries to inject some element of dark humour that feels awkwardly misplaced.

And as for Lauren, she spends the bulk of the movie’s runtime stuck inside the boiler room, and if you are expecting a gripping Panic Room-like scenario, you can simply forget about it. I can see Sophie Turner does her best to play a traumatic protagonist-in-peril caught in the middle of a tense situation. Her engaging performance is among the least positive things I can say about this movie, even with her character being constantly sidelined in favour of diverting its attention to other characters.

I understand that some directors can handle multiple plot threads in a single movie while keeping things interesting, but Carlson Young clearly isn’t the one versatile enough to pull off such a feat. Sometimes, less is more, and this is what Trust needs the most.