Weekly Review -- End of innocence

Trust (2010) -- The advent of the Internet has done nothing short of breathing new life into our concepts of space and time. Placing us in the middle of news as they break, creating endless research resources and generally allowing communication to reach a milestone of speed, this invention has revolutionized the world we live in. Nowadays there is practically nothing that we are unable to access in terms of information, with a simple keystroke making the idea of a global village a reality.

However, there is a very dark side to this technology. One can always count on humans to abuse any tool that is initially meant to serve the purpose of good, and the Internet is no exception. From relentless cyber-bullying to viruses capable of annihilating entire businesses, the Internet can be a genuine web of destruction. One of its most revolting side effects involves pedophiles prowling for young and naive victims, committing crimes that are seemingly endless and that represent the subject of David Schwimmer's meaningful new film.

Annie Cameron (Liana Liberato) is a happy, well-adjusted 14-year-old. Her days go by in schoolwork, volleyball practice and occasional bickering with her frazzled and loving parents (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener). Everything changes when she receives a laptop for her birthday and starts chatting to a California high school student calling himself Charlie. Eventually, he concedes to actually being twenty years old; soon afterward, he tells her that he is twenty-five. Experiencing a teenage crush and yearning for attention, Annie decides to meet Charlie in person, an encounter that will shatter her comfortable world and alter her relationships with her family...

Let me start off by declaring that Trust should be mandatory viewing for parents. It is a cautionary tale if ever there was one, providing plenty of discussion topics. Having said that, some of its plot points do not make peace with logic. How come the parents are not monitoring Annie's use of the laptop? A child should not be left to their own devices when navigating the on-line environment. How come they do not know where she is when she is meeting the predator? Why does the counselor not explain to Annie immediately that the guy has simply been exploiting her? Still, even though these lapses can be frustrating, they do not diminish the chilling impact of the story as the ultimate nightmare of the digital era, a kind of urban legend that alarmingly comes to life.

On another note, I disagreed wholeheartedly with the entire "can't control everything" speech; then again, there is a difference between controlling and having control. A parent should not act like Big Brother. Instead, a parent can and should have control over what their child is doing, but this influence has to stem from authority based on mutual respect and communication. Annie's parents seem a bit clueless when it comes to these things, barely spending time with her and never really listening to her problems. It is no wonder that she runs and gripes to a stranger, who then uses the girl's vulnerability to destroy her. Lesson learned? Be a parent. Be a listener. Be there, lest your child should endeavor to find comfort with someone that they should be running away from.

The performances certainly add to the film's effectiveness. Owen is sheer determination as Annie's father, who will stop at nothing to avenge the attack on his daughter. The actor possesses a refined don't-mess-with-me aura, a gritty energy that serves him perfectly in roles requiring a dose of rough yet intellectual intimidation. Keener is excellent as the generally carefree mother, now unable to grasp just how tainted the comfort of home has become. The scene in which she tells Owen's character to get his act together is heartbreaking, because this is precisely the point when the viewer realizes that both she and her husband have always meant well. They have always been a good mother and father duo, but then somehow got lost within the frantic pace of modern living, and Keener's character's desperation paints this picture perfectly. Liana Liberato gives a breakthrough performance as Annie, a girl so starved for attention that she inadvertently endangers her life, and Viola Davis exudes sympathy as the counselor attempting to shed light on the situation.

Trust is a timely film that uses its space to teach and not preach. While it could easily have turned out to be a self-righteous after school special, it ends up being a sensitive and disturbing warning about the perils of an as yet unexplored realm. It manages to burst its protagonists' safety bubble, as well as slowly glue the pieces back together, by successfully showing that bytes and bytes of numerically abstract distances are never enough of a fence to keep monsters away from innocents.

8/10