SWORD OF TRUST – Review

There’s a sword but not much trust at the start of Lynn Shelton’s oddball indie comedy SWORD OF TRUST but it does have comic surprises and a lot to say about how appearances can be deceiving and the dangers of assumptions and stereotyping. And, yes, trust becomes a central factor in this tale of conspiracy theorists and strangers joining forces.

A curmudgeonly pawnshop owner named Mel (Marc Maron) and his nearly-useless, web-surfing employee Nathaniel (Jon Bass) are eking out a thin living in a small Southern town, but Mel find an unexpected opportunity when out-of-towners Cynthia (Jillian Bell) and her wife Mary (Michaela Watkins) stroll in hoping to sell a Civil War-era sword. Mary was expecting to inherited her grandfather’s house when the couple traveled to this remote spot, but got the sword instead,. The Civil War relic came with a rambling letter detailing a convoluted tale and a claim that the sword proves the South really won the Civil War.

The pawnshop owner, a transplant from New Mexico by way of New York, is as out of place in this sleepy, dusty little Southern town as this out-of-town same-sex couple. Nathaniel tips them off that the sword is a hotly-sought object among conspiracy theorists, a long-rumored “prover” artifact that supports their cause. Seeing a mutually beneficial opportunity, the four form a partnership to cash in by selling it to the highest bidder. What could go wrong, right?

Plenty, of course, as that plan plunges them into the strange world of Civil War conspiracy theory extremists in the Deep South, a situation filled with both tension and comic potential. But director/co-writer Lynn Shelton (HUMP DAY, YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, OUTSIDE IN) also uses it to uncover emotional truths, and hits the mark on all counts.

Shelton, who has directed both comedy and drama, co-wrote this South By Southwest breakout hit with Mike O’Brien, a surprising, funny, unexpectedly beguiling film, where appearances can be misleading and assumptions often mistaken. Both writers take small roles in the film and SWORD OF TRUST has plenty of indie comedy quirkiness. Some of the scenes are improvised, which is often a formula for disaster, but in this case, it creates magic, thanks to this remarkable cast. The cast, all experienced comedic actors, excel as an ensemble, mining comically outlandish situations for laughs while simultaneously crafting unusual, fascinating characters who have unexpected depth. Trust is indeed a running theme, in a tale where assumptions and stereotypes are often way off the mark.

SWOED OF TRUST is comedy but also partly a thriller and drama. This is a film where you never know what will happen next, but you are eager to see what’s around that next bend. Even more, these are people we come to care about, despite silly first impressions, as Shelton and the cast offer revelations step-by-step.

The cast is outstanding, working seamlessly in improv and balancing humor and character development but particularly impressive is Marc Maron as Mel, the central character in this crazy web. Maron’s performance as good comically as it is dramatically as the de facto leader of this unlikely partnership, but he brings an extra level of emotional depth with Mel’s complex backstory. All the cast is good, and that praise extends to include supporting roles by Al Elliott as cafe owner and Mel’s best buddy Jimmy and Daniel Bakkedahl as a would-be buyer and conspiracy-theorist powerbroker Kingpin.

Director Shelton does a masterful job. She draws us in with the humor then throws us off balance, upending assumptions and turning things around every time we get too comfortable. But she also makes us love this twisty, head-spinning, edge-of-the-seat journey and the people on it, despite expectations at the start. Meanwhile, the actor’s characters win us over with their personal stories. The hidden story behind the characters, and the sword, are revealed in this wonderful film, which creeps up on you with humor and suspense to steal your heart.

SWORD OF TRUST opens, Friday, August 2, at the Tivoli Theater.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars