ust
90)
The theme of loneliness is reflected in the sparse
locations. Hartley's characters could only exist here,
within his microcosm of American culture.
Matthew is an intellectual, who carries a hand grenade in
his pocket, "just in case", as he puts it, and who, despite
being an electrical genius, refuses to fix TVs, for political
reasons. He is the product of a broken home, living with
an abusive father (John Mackay) who, despite his OCD
levels of cleanliness and tendency to slap Matthew
around, is utterly dependent on his son, to help keep his
life in order.
A mother is conspicuously absent in their home, the polar
opposite of Maria's household, where her mother (played
sublimely by Rebecca Merritt Nelson) rules with a
psychotic level of indifference.
You can't blame her. Her husband is dead, but she is not
opposed to drinking you under the table, threatening you
with a knife or offering up her eldest as a more exciting
sexual experience than Maria.
As quirky as this sounds, performance is key.
Donovan and Shelly were Hartley regulars, adept at
delivering dialogue in his trademark style of detachment,
as if the words leaving their mouths were both important
and disposable.
Furthermore, there is a sophistication in the writing that
elevates scenes to a surreal, slapstick inspired brilliance.
Most of the violence presented in Hartley's world, at this
point, was rooted in black comedy. It wasn't until HENRY
FOOL in 1997, that the punches began to hurt.
If Hartley's best work remains his films from the 90's,
TRUST is his masterpiece. A perfect encapsulation of his
themes: love and death, loneliness and companionship,
the redeeming simplicity of love.
The final scene contains the lot, with Matthew sticking his
head out of the window of a police car, as it drives off
into the distance. Maria, watching him go, slowly takes
out a pair of glasses.
"They make me look like a librarian," she complained
earlier, to which Matthew replied,
"I like librarians."
She puts the glasses on for him.
Sometimes that's all it takes.
Written by Chris Watt