MovieChat Forums > Trust (2011) Discussion > Why did she have such bad self-esteem?

Why did she have such bad self-esteem?

posted 9 years ago by DwarvesAreVeryUpsetting
8 replies | jump to latest

I don't get it. Why was Annie that desperate for validation? She came from a pretty normal, happy home...... she wasn't ostracized at school or anything. She definitely had friends, and whatmore, was on the school volleyball team. What was stopping her from finding a boy in real life?

I realize that all high school kids, even the well-adjusted ones, are insecure to some extent. But this girl was clearly suffering from some serious confidence issues, she had no personal boundaries at all. Why did she get that sucked into the iPhone relationship? What was lacking in her life?

Great acting, but some of the writing didn't work for me. I needed to see more of the seduction.... I found it really hard to believe that she would become that attached to him just from a few text messages. His "grooming" strategies struck me as pretty feeble, he didn't do much more than flatter her and boost her ego. Her finding out about the other girls would've had more of an impact if we saw how he really had a unique way of making her feel special.

[–] writerchick89 9 years ago

I don't get it either. And I don't get a 15 year old girl wanting some creepy "old" guy (I put that in quotes because 35 isn't old, but in comparison to a child, it is). But kids don't think like adults, and sometimes it doesn't matter how pretty they are or well adjusted they are, they are still vulnerable because they're so naive. I know I was. I did some things as a teenager that make me think now, "I can't believe I did something so potentially dangerous!" I mean nothing like what happened in this movie, but it could have easily gone that way if I didn't have God watching over me or something. But back then, as mature as I thought I was, I didn't have much life experience and therefore couldn't think about possible consequences or dangers in some things I did. And I liked getting attention from older guys. Usually guys in their 20's, not older than that, but still.

Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.--Stephen King

[–] WileyDairyGnome 9 years ago

Yes. God is watching over you and that is why nothing bad happened to you. I guess he just doesn't think that the other young girls and boys who endure *beep* like this are worthy. You are the chosen one.

[–] DwarvesAreVeryUpsetting 9 years ago

And I don't get a 15 year old girl wanting some creepy "old" guy (I put that in quotes because 35 isn't old, but in comparison to a child, it is)

I could've bought it if she was shown to be very lonely and isolated, or had a difficult home life. Someone so deprived of affirmation that she would crave connection with an older, ostensibly wiser person. But she didn't seem to be like that at all.

[–] writerchick89 9 years ago

I'm not even responding to the comment before yours, DwarvesAreVeryUpsetting. But yeah, you're right. But again, you never know how someone feels about themselves on the inside. Everything on the outside may seem like they have nothing to be sad or needy for, but that doesn't always mean anything.

Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.--Stephen King

[–] Superkickass77 9 years ago

Don't get what you don't get. She wasn't insecure or needy he made her feel sexual (not something she was lacking just had never experienced before because she's 14 - not ready for that type of relationship emotionally nor is it the kind of relationship a 14 year old boy can offer either) Which is why she thought he was different and special because he treated her in a way she'd never been treated before (like a 35 year old in a relationship with someone her own age). And the transcripts her Dad took went back 2 years he said so it wasn't just a few texts. All in all horribly plausible.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bite_me_loser_86 9 years ago

It's called being a teenager. I don't think she was particularly insecure, but being young, naive, impressionable and uncertain of who you are, you tend to seek validity and try to figure out who you want to be.
Charlie was very manipulative and acted like he was a truly caring and loving friend, but also a mentor and someone to lean on.
It's called grooming and there's a reason why so many sexual predators will spend time and effort carefully grooming a child - they know it will work with most kids if the grooming is done with patience and skill. It doesn't have to be a child who comes from a 'broken' home, although in a lot of cases they will probably present less of a challenge.

[–] frankey200 8 years ago

I could see that the father hardly spent any time with her. He was always too busy. You could see they didn't have much of a relationship.

So given that, she didn't have any good male role models in her life, which means she didn't know how good men are supposed to act and how a good relationship is supposed to be like.