Review: ‘The Trust’ caper picture reminds us why we liked Nicolas Cage

In the sleepy, fitfully eccentric caper flick “The Trust,” Nicolas Cage plays a Vegas cop but thankfully tries to keep his performance from being a Vegas act. As ambitious, socially awkward property department officer Jim Stone, he’s eagle-eyed but full of dumb swagger — as he sniffs out a lead that points to a hidden vault used by drug dealers, there’s a sense that directing brothers Alex Brewer and Benjamin Brewer (who also co-wrote the script with Adam Hirsch) have tapped into the oddball charm that made us love Cage’s unpredictability in the first place.

For the Record

May 13, 10:20 p.m.: An earlier version of this review misidentified the film’s screenwriters.

Jim is certain there are riches to be had and recruits a skeptical, down-on-his-luck colleague (Elijah Wood) to master-plan a heist with him. Once the scheme is in motion, however, “The Trust” betrays its hidden wispiness as the comic edge dissipates and a dreary darkness takes over.

That Jim proves to be more dangerous than expected is one thing — Cage handles that well enough, as does Wood worriedly reacting to him — but the job itself is a pretty dull rundown of the usual crime-movie snafus with a twist that hardly qualifies as unforeseen. For reminding us all that Cage has a peculiarly gifted way with erratic types, “The Trust” has merit, but the rest of it strains to hold one’s interest.

-------------

‘The Trust’

Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes

MPAA rating: R for violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use

Playing: Laemmle Noho 7, North Hollywood