“Trust” is the dumbest movie of 2025. If it was not billed as a Sophie Turner solo vehicle and remixed as an absurd crime comedy with Katey Segal in the lead, it could have worked, but the filmmakers did not do that, and the film does not work. Lauren Lane (Turner) is America’s sweetheart in a live audience sitcom, but when someone hacks into her iCloud account, a ton of unwanted eyes get in her business. To get away, she rents an Airbnb, which makes things worse when she gets stuck in a boiler room and faces mounting mortal dangers. Who will save Lauren Lane?
Lane’s story is supposed to prove that the spark that she had as a child has not been extinguished, and she still has what it takes to survive and take control of her life. Apparently, writer Gigi Levangie saw “Game of Thrones” and decided that Turner was so good at rising from the ashes like a phoenix and turning the tables that she wanted Turner to bring the show on the road and do it in a movie. The film appeals to Turner probably because the story is about a star reclaiming herself, her image and her future, wresting the spotlight to serve her and embracing motherhood from a horrible ex. It is practically autobiographical. Unfortunately, Levangie thought that the “less is more” rule did not apply to her, and it is not long before “Trust” becomes a Rube Goldbergian absurd thriller with only people to root against. One trope includes the possibility of drowning in a room. It almost feels as if AI wrote the story or worse, Charlie Huston. Unlike Huston, Levangie wrote “Stepmom” (1998), which sounds ridiculous on paper but worked in action, so she just wandered into the wrong genre or tried something different. It happens. Maybe the final product was not her original vision.
The trailer shows Lauren’s ex, Peter (Billy Campbell), her onscreen dad, hiring a cleaner, Kroft (Peter Mensah), to prevent any scandal from erupting if the public discovers that Peter is the baby daddy. Campbell has played some unctuous villains, but if “Trust” is remarkable, it succeeds at making Campbell utterly repulsive. They stick the worst wig on his head. Director Carlson Young makes Mensah suitably sinister by merging him with the black curtains and chair that initially he seems like a statue until he starts moving and talking. She turned a man into a jump scare. If you think that all the action will revolve around them locating and eliminating Lauren, you would be wrong.
The instant that the details of the scandal were laid out, it got immediately boring because of how trite it was. It felt as if the story was homing in on #MeToo and condemning the child actor industry as a breeding ground for pedophiles. There is even an Epstein reference. This theme is not a casual one or even one to touch tangentially. Yes, they are supposed to function as a cathartic villain for Lane to target without damaging her likeability, but if it is at the price of making Lane into a supporting character in a film where she is supposed to be a protagonist, then absolutely not. Having meaning interwoven into a narrative in such a perfunctory way helps no one, including the filmmakers.
“Trust” sports the criminal version of the three stooges. It actually feels as if Darren Donnelly (Rhys Coiro) is the main character because of the amount of screentime that he gets and how he deflects so many obstacles. He lets his nephew, Marcus (Gianni Paolo), who works for the out-of-town owners of an Airbnb, stay on his couch and shares his apartment with Merg (Forrest Goodluck). Darren and Merg decide to go to Marcus’ job to rob Lane once they realize she is staying there, and the ridiculousness ensues. Darren is somehow smart enough to outwit the police, security and more without getting caught, but too stupid to be able to pull off a robbery without almost getting killed not one, not two, but three times. Is the third time a charm? You will have to watch the movie to find out. Coiro, run back to television because if these are the movies that are hiring, you deserve better, and I don’t even know you. This storyline could have worked if they used the nephew’s access to cameras to kick off the scandal or tie into that portion of the plot. Their money shortage would be solved. It feels like another lost opportunity to develop a theme introduced early in the plot.
Loretta (Segal) finds Lane’s dog, Georgie (Pinga), who is the twenty-first century Lassie determined to save his human being and probably the smartest living being in “Trust.” Turns out that Loretta is a self-appointed dog rescuer. Loretta is sweet, but dull. It never occurs to her or the vet, Dr. Murphy (Cal Butler), to call the cops once they realize that a dog is hurt, no one is answering the phone, and everyone is interested in this dog. This part of “Trust” is the hardest part to observe without judging. She gets in over-her-head trying to locate his human, and it becomes a question of whether she and Georgie will survive all the mayhem. Because Segal is a consummate professional, somehow the film actually feels solid when she arrives. Even when she finally shares a scene with Turner, it is Loretta that is more interesting as she exhibits sympathy and cares that Lane is alone. It felt like a missed opportunity when the scene cut their interaction short because it was an interesting dynamic: water in a desert void of human kindness. She could have been an alternate mother figure, which would have worked considering the story starts with Lane and her mother, but the narrative is more interested in framing Lane as the mother that she did not have ,which only works if you get a guarantee that once grown, that kid will not sell her out for a tell all memoir.
It becomes a race to the clock whether Darren or Loretta will get Lane out of there before Kroft arrives. The police exist, but they kind of saunter through the proceedings because from their perspective, their job has nothing to do with Lane. For huge swaths of “Trust,” it is easy to forget that Turner is even in this movie, and she is ostensibly the only reason that anyone is watching because no one else is given equal billing. This movie did not even have to be about a serious scandal. It seriously could have just been a day in the life like in the opening scenes at her home. Have they seen “Clouds of Sils Maria” (2014)?
“Trust” is only for hardcore fans of the cast, but it may break their hearts. The entire cast, especially Turner, deserved a better movie to exhibit their talents. The narrative had so much unfulfilled promise and needed several more revisions and a ruthless editor.
