This underrated heist thriller is one of my favorite Nicolas Cage movies — stream it now on Peacock

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'The Trust' is an offbeat crime drama set in Las Vegas, with great performances from Nicolas Cage and Elijah Wood

Nicolas Cage in The Trust
(Image credit: Alamy)

Nicolas Cage has been in so many movies that it’s no surprise that even some of his better ones have fallen by the wayside. Although he’s had a resurgence in acclaim in recent years thanks to movies like “Pig,” “Dream Scenario” and “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” he’s still so prolific that plenty of his films only get small releases, often direct to VOD.

I’ve seen quite a few of those movies, and there’s a good reason that most of them languish in obscurity. But it’s worth wading through those forgettable entries to find a hidden gem like 2016’s heist thriller “The Trust,” which deserves a place alongside Cage’s best work of the past decade.

Cage has a lengthy history with Las Vegas — where he’s lived for two decades now — in popular movies like “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Honeymoon in Vegas,” and “The Trust” marked the fifth Cage production set at least partially in Vegas. As a fellow Las Vegan, I appreciate Cage’s devotion to the city, and “The Trust” gets a lot right about life here, with characters who work on the margins of the glitz and glamour that people typically associate with Vegas. It’s a smart, suspenseful, witty and well-acted crime drama, worth checking out now that it’s streaming on Peacock.

What is ‘The Trust’ about?

Cage and Elijah Wood play a pair of evidence technicians working for the Las Vegas police department, low-level employees who face dismissal and disrespect from the officers they work with. Their lives are stable but empty, with no professional or personal prospects. So when they stumble across information about a fortified safe in the back of a small grocery store, used by drug dealers to stash large amounts of cash, it doesn’t take much for them to decide to steal the money for themselves.

The Trust Official Trailer #1 (2016) - Elijah Wood, Nicolas Cage Movie HD - YouTube The Trust Official Trailer #1 (2016) - Elijah Wood, Nicolas Cage Movie HD - YouTube
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The first half of “The Trust” is a quirky caper movie, as Cage’s Jim Stone and Wood’s David Waters gather information and come up with their plan. Cage and Wood have great offbeat chemistry as co-workers who are united in misery but don’t have much else in common. Cage brings some of his trademark eccentricities to his role, but he also offers flashes of Jim’s dark side, which comes increasingly to the forefront as the duo makes choices they can’t take back.

In its second half, “The Trust” switches gears to become a grittier, more violent thriller, set in a single location as Jim and David face unexpected obstacles in their effort to break into the safe. Sky Ferreira plays the hostage who challenges the dynamic between the two main characters, whose jokey rapport turns much more serious.

Why you should stream ‘The Trust’ on Peacock

Elijah Wood and Nicolas Cage in The Trust

(Image credit: Alamy)

It’s always a pleasure to watch Cage in his element, and in “The Trust” he achieves an appealing balance between oddball outbursts and genuine pathos. At first, Jim seems like the kind of weird loser his superiors at the police department clearly take him for, but as the movie goes on, he reveals a grim determination that scares both David and the audience.

Wood matches Cage at every turn, bringing his own unique touches to the slightly skeptical David, who may see himself as more rational but is just as desperate and just as greedy as his partner. The supporting cast is equally impressive, with comedy legend Jerry Lewis in one of his final roles as Jim’s father, and Ethan Suplee as a cruel and corrupt officer whom David reluctantly comes to for help.

Directors Alex and Ben Brewer take their time establishing the characters and the situation, so that it’s more impactful when things start to go sidewise. Low-budget crime movies often cut corners on those fundamentals in favor of more action, but “The Trust” is methodical and sharp, making it more engaging when it gets to the climactic showdowns. It’s the kind of craftsmanship that’s too often absent in B-level Cage movies, but here the filmmakers match Cage’s dedication and skill with their own.

Stream “The Trust” on Peacock now

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Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Writer

Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He's the former film editor of Las Vegas Weekly and has written about movies and TV for Vulture, Inverse, CBR, Crooked Marquee and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year.

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