Product Details

• Actors: Adrienne Shelly, Martin Donovan, Merritt Nelson, John MacKay, Edie Falco
• Directors: Hal Hartley
• Writers: Hal Hartley
• Producers: Hal Hartley, Bruce Weiss, Jerome Brownstein, Ted Hope
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Republic Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 23, 1995
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630227883X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,568 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the five best films ever made!, June 4, 1999

By 

matthewslaughter "matthewslaughter" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trust [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Hal Hartley's simple, brilliant masterpiece. Martin Donovan should have won an oscar for his performance as Matthew Slaughter. All the characters are written to perfection, and they complement each other perfectly. The film is as sad as it is hilarious (there are some 50 lines of dialogue that are worth quoting here). Matthew Slaughter's character is made all the more real by the ending. As an "empiricist" who doesn't believe in love, he can only understand what it is (love) once things turn in the wrong direction for him. The love between him and Maria Coughlin (Adrienne Shelly) is not one of those stuffy Hollywood romances, but a simple trust and understanding between two individuals (admiration, respect, trust equal love!). Further complicating matters between them are their downright sinister parents; Matthew's father beats him, while Maria's mother blames her for the death of her father. Simple, intricate, funny, sad, and filled with nuggets of wisdom, this film ranks up there with "Psycho," "Wizard of Oz," "2001" and "Persona" as one of the crowing achievements of cinema, and unfortunately so very few of you out there have seen it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Humor, White Trash, September 26, 2005

By 

Diego Banducci (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trust [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you like John Waters films (particularly "Female Trouble" and "Pink Flamingos") but were disappointed that they didn't quite clear the hurdle to being funny, then "Trust" is for you.

"Trust" is the follow-on to "The Unbelievable Truth," and features many of the same actors and themes. "The Unbelievable Truth," however, is a screwball romantic comedy, while "Trust" is flat-out black humor. If you're planning to watch both, watch "The Unbelievable Truth" first.

I spent the first half of "Trust" laughing, but wondering whether Hal Hartley intended it to be funny. By the end, it becomes clear that he did; this is one very funny film.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh what luck, and from such an unexpected source, January 27, 2004

By 

socrates17 "socrates17" (New Jersey/Tanelorn 2008/9) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trust [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Back in the days when I was ignorant enough to shell out hard earned (or at least well faked) money for pay movie channels, I was bumbling around the "dial" and ran into the second half of Trust.

Later, I made a point of finding the next showing and watched and taped it.

I was blown away. The discourse was uniquely deadpan and honest at the same time. The acting was fabulous. Martin Donovan promptly became one of the few actors, and the only actor from North America, whose work is required viewing. I have a somewhat longer list of actresses, but being an unrepentant auteurist, required films are almost always based on director.

After seeing Trust, Hal Hartley was lodged firmly in the mandatory list. The relationship between Maria and Matthew managed to be both realistic and stylized at the same time. Not an easy combination to pull off. They talk to each other, rarely look at each other, and yet the connection is palpable. The film is deeply compassionate. The dialogue is like a sort of music, especially in its rhythms, its pauses. The supporting character roles, especially Maria's father are painted precisely with deft strokes.

Trust is one of my favorite Hartley films. Flirt is the only film of his I have found disappointing, Simple Men and The Book of Life are my favorites. I loved The Unbelievable Truth. I seem to have liked No Such Thing more than most other Hartley fans and Amateur slightly less, although I did like it.

Trust really should be on DVD and, although several Hartley films have just been released on DVD Trust does not seem to be scheduled yet. Tsk tsk. Wait for the DVD.