Trust the Man (2005) September 16, 2007
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Bart Freundlich
David Duchovny has been fairly selective of his film projects both during and since his departure from the role for which he is best known: as Fox Mulder on The X-Files. And while his choices have been varied in genre, there’s a running theme of humour in most of his work, be it in a broad sci-fi comedy such as Evolution, or here, in a slightly gentler, character-driven romantic comedy.
This film focuses on four people, two couples, living in New York and struggling to keep their relationships intact. Rebecca (Julianne Moore) and Tom (Duchovny) have a marriage that’s falling apart despite their semi-humorous annual visit to a councillor. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s brother (and Tom’s best friend) Tobey (Billy Crudup) is fighting with commitment issues as he tries to hold on to his long-term girlfriend Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Reaching the tipping point, both couples must decide what their priorities are and how much they are willing to risk losing.
I like Duchovny as an actor, I find he has an inviting, friendly presence on screen and is naturally very capable of handling the back-and-forth dialogue in a way that gets the most out of it. That’s not to say that the rest of the central cast aren’t good too though, with Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal all coming together to form a believable bunch of shallow people with problems – which is exactly who these characters are.
Writer and director Bart Freundlich does a fine job in both of his roles, turning in a script that’s witty and warm when it’s required to be, even if it does push its luck in the believability department towards the end. His directorial style is simple, mainly focussing on getting the conversational story to screen in the most effective manner, but there are some nice flourishes of elegance along the way and the music (including original compositions by Clint Mansell) fits the tone perfectly.
If there are negatives to be found in this film, it’s in the fact that people may not warm to the characters in the right way, especially as they strut around having affairs or acting selfishly in order to deal with ‘difficulties’ which, for the most part, are not that difficult. They are in no way as nasty as those presented in other examples of the genre, but it may still be enough to push some people away.
Although nothing remarkable on the face of it, Trust The Man has a certain charm that sustains the film for at least the first two acts, while the script’s quick fire banter is skilfully delivered by a cast who appear relaxed and comfortable in their roles. It’s not breaking the mould, especially with such an ordinary make-up / break-up / make-up narrative, but at least there’s some laughs along the way.
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