Awkwardness in Trust

In the 1990 film, Trust, director Hal Hartley introduces a unique take on 'the theater of the absurd'. Although this film was created 40 years after the peak of the theater of the absurd movement, the film is known as a modern adaptation of the movement.

I think that one of the most notable aspects of the film is the intentional awkwardness it portrays. In the interactions between each of the characters, Hartley displays a level of awkwardness and realness that is uncommon in most mainstream films. One moment Maria is sitting on a bench with a stranger, and the next moment she abruptly demands that the stranger give her five dollars. This level of absurdity is key to the film and how it stands out from major Hollywood productions.

I think that this strategy shows the audience their own expectations of movies that society has imposed upon them. The audience expects Maria and Matthew to rejoice and embrace one another when he asks her to marry him, but of course that is not what happens. Maria climbs onto a ledge and does an impromptu trust fall. I think that this unexpected response in one example of how Hartley uses awkwardness to express the theatre of the absurd in the film Trust.