A teenage girl (Liana Liberato) is targeted by an online sexual predator (David Schwimmer).What makes this story great is how real it is, how emotional, and to some degrees how gritty. It is not like the sort of sob story you might see on Lifetime, but something that may be real. We have Clive Owen torn between sexualizing people and the protection of his own daughter. He never actually sexualizes, of course, but we see the temptation is there and it is one his business partner freely accepts.And that is the beauty of the story. It is not just the story of a young girl and her dealing with what happens to her. It is also a critique of society at large. We can condemn a man who preys on children over the Internet, and at the same time live in a society that sees women as sex objects and sells clothes by using models who do not wear any...

Annie (Liana Liberato) is a Chicago suburban teen with loving parents Will (Clive Owen) and Lynn (Catherine Keener). She's constantly online chatting with Charlie from California. First he tells her that he's actually 20. With her parents away with her older brother visiting a college, she decides to meet Charlie (Chris Henry Coffey) who turns out to be much older. He talks his way into having sex with her. Her best friend happens to see them at the mall and tells the teachers. FBI agent Doug Tate (Jason Clarke) is called in. Will is angry and Annie is in denial. The family struggles under the incrimination.David Schwimmer has a well-made lesson-of-the-week movie. He hits the audience over the head on how sexualized everything is. This is not a subtle movie. The constant drumbeats do wear me out. It's a message movie and Schwimmer won't let you forget it. Liana Liberato is compelling in the lead role. The hotel scene is creepy as hell. Everybody puts out their emotional best. I wish Schwimmer has a more sophisticated style but it's good as a cautionary tale.

I have to say that 'Trust' is a good film, although, if, like me, you're a parent, you may find it more than a little hard to watch. It's a drama about a nice, normal, middle-class American family, whose life is ripped apart when their thirteen year old daughter meets a 'boyfriend' online. It's fair to say that this 'boy' is more of a man, but 'predator' may be a better description.It's hard-hitting and definitely not a feel-good movie. In places it's pretty full on and has received some criticism for taking certain scenes – what some people perceive to be – a little 'too far' in the name of making a point.I found it more 'horrific' than most – supposed – horror films, largely because it's totally believable and sadly very true to most families' lives, especially those with children who are starting to spread their wings and take a few independent steps online.Whether you love or hate the film, it's a story that needs to be told and, more importantly, understood. Parents need to be aware of who exactly their children may be communicating with online from the privacy of their own bedroom. While the kids themselves need to be aware that the nice kid they've met in chatroom may be anything but who they say they are.'Trust' isn't suitable for kids – naturally – but, in some ways, I almost see it as a 'public information' film about the dangers of internet relationship. It's a hard film to watch and, just because it's not a true story, doesn't mean that it's not tragically true.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Schwimmer crams a lot into his directorial debut: an elaborate and nasty grooming process, social (guilt) references through the workplace and colleague of the (girl's) father, the son who is seemingly favored, revenge sentiments and fantasies, et cetera and so on. So, it aspires to thrill as much as it wants to be dramatically apt, but instead becomes a laborious mix of TV-movie drama meets rape & revenge flick (where the revenge is only in the mind). For me, it never really took off.Liberato's acting ranges from okay to very good, Owen plays pretty much okay, but convinces most in the final scene, and the rest of the cast keeps up nicely. And although no less than the first half hour is just about the grooming, it still didn't convince me somehow. Then there's a lot of going back and forth between the different characters of the father and daughter, the investigation, and back to the father / mother relationship; it all felt a bit messy.All in all not bad, really, but also not a stunner by a long shot. 5 out of 10.