Trust (1990)

When high school dropout Maria Coughlin announces her pregnancy to her parents, her father drops dead on the floor. Her mother kicks her out of the house and her boyfriend dumps her, so ... See full summary »

Director:

Hal Hartley

Writer:

Hal Hartley

Stars:

Adrienne Shelly, Martin Donovan, Rebecca Nelson

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrienne Shelly	...	Maria Coughlin
Martin Donovan	...	Matthew Slaughter
Rebecca Nelson	...	Jean Coughlin (as Merritt Nelson)
John MacKay	...	Jim Slaughter
Edie Falco	...	Peg Coughlin
Gary Sauer	...	Anthony
Matt Malloy	...	Ed
Suzanne Costollos	...	Rachel
Jeff Howard	...	Robert
Karen Sillas	...	Nurse Paine
Tom Thon	...	Deli Man
Hannah Sullivan	...	Ruark Boss (as Patricia Sullivan)
Marko Hunt	...	John Coughlin
Kathryn Mederos	...	Factory Woman
Bill Sage	...	John Bill

Storyline

When high school dropout Maria Coughlin announces her pregnancy to her parents, her father drops dead on the floor. Her mother kicks her out of the house and her boyfriend dumps her, so Maria is left alone and homeless. This is when she meets Matthew Slaughter. Matthew is an educated high school graduate with a great talent for fixing electronic devices, but he can't hang on to a job because of his principled attitude towards quality. When Maria accepts Matthew's offer to help her, they begin to form a relationship with each other in which both of them begin to change.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnancy | high school dropout | dropout | alienation | rebellion | 

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Taglines:

A slightly twisted comedy

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1991 (UK)

Also Known As:

A semmi ágán

Filming Locations:

Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$356,122 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Republic Pictures (II), True Fiction Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview, Hal Hartley once explained that he made the movie on the spur of the moment because he wanted to work with Shelly again immediately after making The Unbelievable Truth, so he had very little money and very little time. The movie was shot in 11 days. The reason he could do that, he said, was because so much of the direction was implied in the dialogue. The dialogue pretty much told the actors what to do.

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Quotes

Maria: Not because you love me or anything like that?
Matthew: I respect and admire you.
Maria: Is that love?
Matthew: No, that's respect and admiration.

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Connections

References Playtime (1967)

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 5 in C Minor"
Ludwig van Beethoven
Courtesy of Supraphon Records / KPM Music

User Reviews

My Favorite Movie Of All Time

I first saw this film in 1990 while I was in college and I loved it. I watched it over and over on VHS. I told everyone that this was my favorite movie of all time and watched every Hal Hartley movie I could find. Last night I stumbled across Trust on Netflix Instant and I thought I'd check it out to see if this film that I was so passionate about when I was 20 years old held up over time or if the 40 year old me would find it silly or dated. To my surprise I was blown away all over again by how ridiculously great it is. The smart stylized dialog, the music, the starkness, the silences, the camera framing, all of the whacked out but fully human characters, Martin Donovan and Adrienne Shelly so young and beautiful. As the final, simple, beautiful, frame of the film disappeared and credits rolled I was left sitting on the couch in a state of shocked amazement at the effect this film still has on me. Hands down my favorite movie of all time!