Trust

The premium cast elevates Trust from a good TV series to an absorbing, cinematic venture.

Trust is a strong addition to [the FX] lineup, although it’s unclear whether the Getty mess--all the misery and excess--will remain engaging enough to maintain interest for 10 episodes. Given the skills of Beaufoy and Boyle, I trust that it will.

Trust adds to the conversation rather than repeating it. You can count on its pulpy drama, even if the fictional Gettys couldn't count on each other.

Whereas Plummer’s Getty playfully issued unannounced tests to gauge his peers, Sutherland’s makes it a blunt habit. This cranky old man is less interesting, which makes Trust a tougher sell as a long-term investment.

Trust has all the trappings of an extraordinary period piece, led mostly by such details that highlight the outrageousness of the economically fortunate. Nevertheless, for all of its zesty pacing and Fraser’s best and largely successful efforts to steal every scene he’s in, there’s some core element of soul and feeling missing from it.

The show’s appealing performers and catchy look don’t yet outweigh its lack of cohesion and its readiness to fall back on platitudes about the corrosive effects of wealth. “All the Money in the World” was a character study, but so far “Trust” is more of a caricature.

There’s a vaguely pleasant handsomeness to the series but there’s no imagination and no sense whatsoever why it was important for Boyle or Beaufoy to lend their irrefutable talents to this thorny material.