THE TRUST (2016) ***

Nicolas Cage stars as a cop who works in the evidence room who yearns for a better life.  Maybe he’d be okay if his captain treated him like a human being.  Instead, he only talks to Cage when he needs him to set aside evidence he wants for himself before it goes up for grabs at a police auction.  

When Cage stumbles upon a receipt for a lowly busboy who was bailed out on $200,000 cash, it gets him thinking.  Together with his pal Elijah Wood, a crime scene investigator, they decide to put a tail on the guy and see what his story is.  Their hard work eventually pays off when they discover the whereabouts of a mysterious vault.  Naturally, the pair decide to try to break in and rob it.

Before you ask, yes, The Trust features a great latter-day Cage performance.  He doesn’t phone it in, although he doesn’t go full-blown crazy Cage either.  He’s definitely more tweaked and weird than your typical leading man.  Whether he’s applying liberal doses of sunblock to his nose, making bad jokes at inappropriate times (like saying "you know the drill" before Wood is about to drill into the safe), or repeating words over and over again in anger, Cage is always a joy to watch. 

Wood makes for a good foil.  He acts incredulous to most of Cage’s behavior and his blank stare during Cage’s more manic moments is a nice balance of acting styles.  Still, his character sticks with Cage, mostly because he doesn't have anything better to do (which probably describes Wood’s offscreen willingness to play straight man to Cage).  They are so good together that you wish they’ll get paired up again real soon.  Oh, and if you blink, you’ll miss Jerry Lewis in his final film role as Cage’s dad.

The heist stuff is rather standard issue stuff I’m afraid.  If you came hoping to see some sort of ingenious Ocean’s 11 style heist, you’re going to be disappointed.  However, as a character study of two down-on-their-luck losers, it works.  (There are long stretches that feel like a two-character play.)  Although the plot itself is low key, Cage’s energetic performance helps to liven things up considerably.   

AKA:  The Trust:  Big Trouble in Sin City.