Sword of Trust

Last updated
Sword of Trust
Sword of Trust poster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lynn Shelton
Written by
Produced by
  • Lynn Shelton
  • Ted Speaker
Starring
CinematographyJason Oldak
Edited byTyler L. Cook
Music byMarc Maron
Production
company
  • Forager Films
Distributed by IFC Films
Release dates
  • March 8, 2019 (2019-03-08)(SXSW)
  • July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12)(United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$322,598 [1] [2]

Sword of Trust is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Lynn Shelton from a screenplay by Shelton and Mike O'Brien. The cast features Marc Maron, Jon Bass, Michaela Watkins, Tim Paul, Whitmer Thomas, Toby Huss, Dan Bakkedahl and Jillian Bell. It is the final film directed by Shelton, who also portrays Deidre in the film, before she died in May 2020.

Contents

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 8, 2019, and was released on July 12, 2019, by IFC Films.

Plot

Mel owns and runs a pawn shop in Birmingham, Alabama, with the help of Nathaniel. However, Nathaniel isn't very helpful as he spends most of his time watching YouTube conspiracy videos on his laptop. Mary and Cynthia go to Cynthia's deceased grandfather's house in order to sort out his estate. Deirdre, a drug addict and Mel's ex, shows up to the pawn shop and has a conversation with Nathaniel. She writes him a poem as Mel emerges from the back. She tells Mel that he owes her a dinner and tries to pawn a ring. Mel declines and she leaves.

Back at the house Mary and Cynthia learn that Cynthia will not inherit her grandfather's house in contrast to their expectations due to reverse mortgage he took out on the house. They are disappointed and learn that she has inherited an antique sword with a letter written by the grandfather explaining the sword's history. Cynthia remembers the sword from her childhood. While reading the letter, they discover the sword belonged to General Sherman from the Civil War. It was surrendered to Cynthia's ancestor, a field marshal in a battle of the war. The letter also claims the Confederacy won the war.

The two women show up to Mel's Pawn Shop to sell the sword. He offers them $400. They tell him it is too low an offer, given its documentation. They show him a drawing of General McClellan surrendering to General Robert E. Lee. He doesn't believe them and Mary leaves him her number in case he changes his mind. Nathaniel finds a conspiracy video on YouTube of a man that believes the South won the war and claims he will pay up to $50,000 for Civil War artifacts. Mel and Nathaniel call the man to discuss business. The man asks for a picture of the sword.

Mel calls Mary to invite the women back and offers them more money. Mary is suspicious of the new offer all of a sudden and gets Mel to admit that there is a buyer. They come to an agreement to split the profits and take a picture of the sword and send it to the interested party. Everyone meets up at the Pawn Shop the next morning, including Hog Jaws, the man sent to buy the sword. Hog Jaws informs them that the boss man will be interested and that they'll be in touch.

Everyone except Mel leaves and two other men show up looking for the sword. They attempt to intimidate Mel and steal the sword that is not there. Nathaniel emerges from the back and Mel and Nathaniel's friend Jimmy comes in, forcing them to leave. They receive a text from Hog Jaws offering $40,000 for the sword. Mel accepts the offer and they receive another text telling them transport is on the way to take them to meet the boss.

Hog Jaws and the women arrive at the pawn shop. The car Hog Jaws arrives in is too small to transport everyone so he leaves. He comes back with a truck. He drives them from Alabama to a farm in Tennessee. The two men who attempted to rob Mel earlier emerge and attempt to steal the sword again. Mel realizes he knew the two men when they were children and Mary pulls a gun on them. A man, Kingpan, emerges from the barn with Hog Jaws, threatens the two men, and kicks them off the property.

Mel and Mary go inside the house in order to sell the sword to Kingpan, who realizes that the two of them don't really believe the South won the war. He purchases the sword from them anyway and admits he doesn't believe it either. Hog Jaws overhears the conversation from outside of the room they're in and comes in angrily with a gun drawn. Mary texts Cynthia who is outside with Nathaniel. She pulls out a gun and hits the man watching over the two of them in the head, knocking him out. She enters the room, points the gun to the back of Hog Jaws' head and takes his gun away. Kingpan's henchmen take Hog Jaws away. Cynthia decides she can't sell the sword because of the sentimental value and Mel, Nathaniel, Mary, and Cynthia drive back to Alabama. Mel pays for Deidre's car to be fixed and leaves her a bag of provisions.

Cast

Production

In May 2018, it was announced Michaela Watkins, Jillian Bell, Marc Maron, Jon Bass, Toby Huss, Dan Bakkedahl, Whitmer Thomas and Timothy Paul joined the cast of the film, with Lynn Shelton writing and directing the film. Production concluded that same month. [3]

Release

It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 8, 2019. [4] [5] Shortly after, IFC Films acquired distribution rights to the film. [6] It was the opening night film at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 16, 2019. It was released on July 12, 2019. [7]

Critical reception

Sword of Trust received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 93% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 92 reviews, with an average of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Expertly drawn characters and a strong sense of humanity make Sword of Trust an enjoyable – if a little meandering – journey." [8] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 70 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." [9]

Marc Maron won Best Actor for Sword of Trust at the Gijón International Film Festival in 2019.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penelope Spheeris</span> American film director and producer

Penelope Spheeris is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization, each covering an aspect of Los Angeles underground culture, and Wayne's World, her highest-grossing film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Maron</span> American comedian, podcaster, writer, and actor

Marcus David Maron is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Brownstein</span> American musician, writer, and actress (born 1974)

Carrie Rachel Brownstein is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney.

<i>Payback</i> (1999 film) 1999 film by Brian Helgeland

Payback is a 1999 American neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Brian Helgeland in his directorial debut, and starring Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, and David Paymer. It is based on the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake using the pseudonym Richard Stark, which had earlier been adapted into the 1967 film noir classic Point Blank, directed by John Boorman and starring Lee Marvin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonder Wart-Hog</span> Comics character

Wonder Wart-Hog is an underground comic book character, a porcine parody of Superman, created by Gilbert Shelton and first published in 1962. Over the years, Shelton has worked on the strip in collaboration with various writers and artists, including fellow UT Austin alums Tony Bell, Bill Killeen, and Joe E. Brown Jr.

<i>American Gothic</i> (1988 film) 1988 Canadian film directed by John Hough

American Gothic is a 1988 slasher film directed by John Hough and starring Rod Steiger, Yvonne De Carlo, Janet Wright and Michael J. Pollard. The film poster is a take-off on the Grant Wood painting of the same name: American Gothic.

<i>Flight of the Conchords</i> (TV series) American sitcom

Flight of the Conchords is an American sitcom that was first shown on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who play fictionalised versions of themselves. A second season was announced on August 17, 2007 and shown from January 18, 2009. On December 11, 2009, the duo announced that the series was not going to be returning for a third season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Rust</span> American actor, comedian and writer

Paul Rust is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film I Love You, Beth Cooper and in the Netflix series Love.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Shelton</span> American filmmaker (1965–2020)

Lynn Shelton was an American filmmaker, known for writing, directing, and producing such films as Humpday and Your Sister's Sister. She was associated with the mumblecore genre.

<i>Sleepwalk with Me</i> 2012 American film

Sleepwalk with Me is a 2012 American independent comedy film co-written by, directed by, and starring Mike Birbiglia. It also stars Lauren Ambrose, James Rebhorn, Carol Kane, and Cristin Milioti. Before making the film, Birbiglia had already told the autobiographical story of his struggles to become a stand-up comedian while dealing with REM behavior disorder and a failing relationship in a one-man show and a book.

<i>Maron</i> (TV series) American sitcom

Maron is an American sitcom created by and starring Marc Maron as a fictionalized version of himself. The series premiered on the American cable television network IFC on May 3, 2013. Maron, Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Olivia Wingate, Sivert Glarum, Michael Jamin and Duncan Birmingham served as the show's executive producers. Glarum and Jamin were the showrunners. Maron's second season premiered on May 8, 2014, and its thirteen-episode third season premiered on May 14, 2015. In November 2015, the series was renewed for a thirteen-episode fourth season. In 2016 the show was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy. On July 11, 2016, Maron announced on his WTF podcast that the series would not have a fifth season, with the season four finale serving as the series finale. The series finale aired on July 13, 2016.

<i>Frank and Cindy</i> 2015 American film

Frank and Cindy is a 2015 comedy film written and directed by G.J. Echternkamp. The film stars Rene Russo, Oliver Platt, Johnny Simmons, Jane Levy, and Marc Maron and is based on the true story and the 2007 documentary of the same name.

<i>Laggies</i> 2014 film by Lynn Shelton

Laggies is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lynn Shelton and written by Andrea Seigel. It stars Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell, Kaitlyn Dever, Jeff Garlin, Ellie Kemper, Mark Webber, and Daniel Zovatto. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014, and was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 24, 2014, by A24.

Duncan Birmingham is a writer, director, and actor living in Los Angeles. He was a writer and executive producer on Maron on IFC and a writer and co-executive producer on Blunt Talk on Starz. In 2021, he released a short story collection, The Cult in My Garage from Maudlin House. In 2022, Birmingham wrote and directed the feature film, Who Invited Them.

<i>Ophelia</i> (2018 film) 2018 film by Claire McCarthy

Ophelia is a 2018 historical romantic drama film directed by Claire McCarthy and written by Semi Chellas about the character of the same name from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Based on the novel by Lisa Klein, the film follows the story of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective. It stars Daisy Ridley in the title role, alongside Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, George MacKay, Tom Felton and Devon Terrell. The dialogue is in modern English.

<i>True History of the Kelly Gang</i> (film) 2019 film

True History of the Kelly Gang is a 2019 bushranger film directed by Justin Kurzel, written by Shaun Grant, and based upon the 2000 novel of the same name by Peter Carey. A fictionalised account of the life of bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly, the film stars George MacKay, Essie Davis, Nicholas Hoult, Charlie Hunnam and Russell Crowe.

<i>Brittany Runs a Marathon</i> 2019 American comedy-drama film by Paul Downs Colaizzo

Brittany Runs a Marathon is a 2019 American comedy film written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo, in his directorial debut. It stars Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, and Micah Stock. The film follows an overweight woman in New York City who sets out to lose weight and train for the city's annual marathon.

<i>The Wedding Guest</i> (2018 film) Film by Michael Winterbottom

The Wedding Guest is a 2018 action thriller film written and directed by Michael Winterbottom. It stars Dev Patel, Radhika Apte and Jim Sarbh.

<i>Stardust</i> (2020 film) 2020 biopic about David Bowie by Gabriel Range

Stardust is a 2020 biographical film about English singer-songwriter David Bowie and his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, directed by Gabriel Range, from screenplay co-written by Range with Christopher Bell. Johnny Flynn stars as Bowie, alongside Jena Malone and Marc Maron in supporting roles.

References

  1. "Sword of Trust". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  2. "Sword of Trust". The Numbers . Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  3. Barfield, Charles (May 29, 2018). "Lynn Shelton's Next Movie Is The Improvised Ensemble Comedy 'Sword Of Trust' With Marc Maron & More". The Playlist. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  4. Kilday, Gregg (January 16, 2019). "SXSW: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey to Premiere New Work". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  5. "Sword of Trust". South by Southwest . Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  6. Keslassy, Elsa (March 29, 2019). "IFC Films Acquires North American Rights to Lynn Shelton's 'Sword of Trust' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  7. "24 Indies and Festival Favorites You Can't Miss This Summer Season". IndieWire . April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  8. "Sword of Trust (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  9. "Sword of Trust". Metacritic . Retrieved August 4, 2019.