Review: Trespass Against Us

Trespass Against Us is the debut feature from Adam Smith. Smith has been a long-time collaborator with The Chemical Brothers, directing a good amount of their music videos and playing a role in their visual stage shows. Telling the story of an Irish clan of robbers may not feel like a natural fit but Trespass has plenty to admire.

 

Michael Fassbender plays Chad,  the likely heir to the family business of thieving. His father Colby (Brendan Gleeson) is a menacing presence over the family. As the film opens, Chad begins to want to move away from the criminal life to provide a better future for his two kids. If this sounds familiar, the plot is secondary in Trespass Against Us. The thin plot really serves as a platform for Smith to work his style on the material. Thankfully, it largely works.

The success of this is largely due to the solid performances from Fassbender and Gleeson. Fassbender keeps an intensity and earnest desire to do better throughout the performance as Chad. This helps to give the film a sense of depth where the script provides little. Most of the film jumps from robberies to chases from the police to explosive confrontations between family members. Colby continually fills Chad's kids with ideas primitive behavior as if to suggest their fates are already decided by the family they are born into. This idea haunts Chad as he tries his best to break free of a bleak existence. 

While most of the time, Smith succeeds by focusing on the details of this clan. Their campground of trailer homes feels genuine. The film also has a wonderful energy to it. Smith often employs an electronic soundtrack to keep things pumping forward. The film meanders and doesn't really go anywhere but either do the Cutlers of which the film is enamored with. 

For a first feature, Trespass Against Us has a good amount of style and energy to make Smith a talent to watch. While the plot may be familiar, the film beats to its own drum and ends up feeling fresh. Gleeson and Fassbender are worth the price alone but Smith's stylish direction will make you remember it.

3.5/5