Everyone wants a piece of Lauren Lane (Sophie Turner). In “Trust,” Turner plays a child star turned television icon: America’s sweetheart, the forefront of a show called “The Johnsons,” which is a live-audience family sitcom akin to “Full House.” But when she falls victim to an internet hacker who leaks her contact information, private photographs, and an image of a positive pregnancy test, it’s a PR nightmare that threatens to annihilate the wholesome image on which her career has hinged.
To escape the barrage of journalists, managers, and public scrutiny and shame, Lauren seeks refuge in a solo trip to a remote cabin up the PCH with her dog, Georgie. But hardly any time is spent truly relaxing, as her phone rings off the hook and her mind is occupied by the scandal. But things are about to get much worse.
Firstly, the Airbnb manager discovers its famous tenant through security cameras expertly hidden throughout the home. Though he seeks to protect the information, his cunning criminal uncle Darren (Rhys Coiro) and his unpredictable sidekick (Forrest Goodluck) steal off in the middle of the night to rob her blind.
In the process of doing so, Georgie escapes, and Lauren, who fled into the home’s boiler room, finds herself locked inside, hoping the men can’t shove their way in. Meanwhile, on the basis of refusing an abortion, the man whom she trusted the most has hired a hitman to take her out. But he has to locate her, or rather the cabin itself, first.
To put it broadly, I don’t think that director Carlson Young and writer Gigi Levangie knew what story they wanted to tell. “Trust” plays off like a hodgepodge of ideas and plotlines painted with broad strokes. At times, the film is an escape thriller, and at others, it’s a hitman’s cat-and-mouse game, a dog’s tale, and then a lackluster comedy. Tonally, it’s a mess, but there are nuggets within it that hint at a greater, more developed tale.
It is revealed early on that the father of Lauren’s unborn child is her on-screen father, Peter (Billy Campbell), who groomed her throughout the show’s airing. His penchant for assassins comes from his need to preserve his image and desire not to have to “move to France to live next to Roman Polanski.” This dynamic seems to be the root of the film’s title, and also the inception point of the plot. If “Trust” wanted to investigate the carnivorous appetites of celebrity, it only began the outline. It veers so far off course that it feels like watching three movies at once.
“Trust” feels like a brainstorming session bolstered by “ooh”s and “what if”s. Lauren is positioned as the film’s center, but we spend so much time away from her that she consistently slips out of focus. Rather, we’re watching animal rescuer Loretta (Katey Sagal) bumble around between the animal hospital and grocery store, starstruck by having found a famous dog. Her character itself feels written exclusively for comic relief, but one wonders why the film felt it could not commit to the tone of its own proposed story.
When leaning into its gritty tension, “Trust” treads water suitably well, but when overcome by the flippance of half-baked side quests, it goes belly up. Turner delivers a committed performance that helps fill the lungs of the film, but it’s a shame that, despite this, we are constantly compelled to confront missions elsewhere.
At the core, with Lauren, is where “Trust” would have maintained itself. The horrors of invaded privacy and personal nightmare turned into a threatened safety are enough of an enticing narrative. With the added threads of female-specific and child celebrity woven through, “Trust” had the potential to be not just thrilling but thoughtful. Yet with an unfocused eye and clumsy pen, it falls way short of the mark.
