Trust the Man
makes midlife exciting again.
Can passion endure the passage of time? Can love survive not only Hollywood but also the ever-changing human heart? Are people truly meant to settle down with one person?
Trust the Man
, Bart Freundlich's new work, unabashedly confronts these questions. As the title suggests, the film touches on many aspects of trust: trusting in oneself, trusting in one's partner, breaking trust, becoming worthy of trust again. A witty, insightful exploration of the modern relationship, the film is also an homage both to love and to New York that inspires and satisfies.
Julianne Moore plays Rebecca, an accomplished actress and mother of two, who is in New York to star in a play. Her husband, Tom (David Duchovny), is her rock, a stay-at-home dad who
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adores his wife and kids but is having serious doubts about the direction his life has taken. In a role reversal courtesy of the 21st century, it is the father who is haunted by his decision to give up his career and is flogged by feelings of inadequacy. His doubts lead to sexual desperation, a huge turn-off for his beautiful, successful wife. His ennui finds an outlet in an affair with a hypersexual divorcée parent at his son's school. Thrown out of the house and convinced his infidelity could only be brought on by mental instability, he joins a support group for sex addicts. As Rebecca realizes the effect her detachment has had on her husband, he in turn faces the reality of what pursuing a fantasy has cost him.
Their best friends are Rebecca's brother Tobey (Billy Crudup) and his girlfriend of seven years, Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Tobey is accurately described as "a kid with a checking account," one who would rather obsess over his own mortality than take his life seriously. He is self-absorbed and prone to ignoring the needs of his girlfriend, patronizingly criticizing her life choices. Frustrated with playing second fiddle to everything else in his life and with his failure to commit to a future with her, Elaine dumps him. As the weight of his loss settles in on him, neither therapy nor the advances of his hottie ex Faith (Eva Mendez) can assuage his conviction that he and Elaine "go together." Elaine,
however, is finding her own way through power lesbians (Ellen Barkin), "attentive" rock stars and foreign men who
do
want to have children.
Whether teaching his son how to take a poop or pawning off "afficionado" as a word for "fish enthusiast," Duchovny's deadpan humor hits home. His subtle and sensitive performance is a perfect complement to the dazzling complexity of Moore's, who delivers a completely unique
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depiction of urban motherhood. Crudup is enjoyable and convincingly cartoonish (if perhaps bordering dangerously on the brink of doing a Jack Black impression). Gyllenhaal is heartbreakingly genuine, effortlessly drawing the audience into her process of self-discovery.
An unfortunate bout of slapstick in the third act mars the film somewhat. At the opening night of Rebecca's play, Tom and Tobey resort to all manner of shenanigans, from stealing flowers to tackling ushers, in order to win back their ladies. The theatrics may elicit a few laughs, but the tight script and fine performances are more engaging than the forced comedy. There is one winning Hollywood moment, however: Tom rushes the stage during the curtain call and tosses a note to Rebecca in a flurry of rose petals. Moore stands, regally blushing, and extends her trust to The Man, pulling him onstage and exclaiming, "He's my husband!" Yes, I'll need that handkerchief, please.
