Trespass Against Us (2016)

Review

99min

Genre:       Crime, Drama

Director:    Adam Smith

Cast:         Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Lyndsey Marshal…

Writer:      Alastair Siddons

-Synopsis-

Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson star in a gritty British crime drama about an traveller caught between a fierce loyalty to his people and his hopes for a life on the straight and narrow for his young family, as he struggles to break away from the clutches of his domineering father and a life of crime—for the sake of his wife and kids.

Having started a career as a successful visual artist working with UK music acts like ‘The Streets’ and ‘The Chemical Brothers’, and then building an impressive directorial CV in British television, English director Adam Smith recruits two masterful Irish actors and novice screenwriter Alastair Siddons for a crime-fuelled family drama set in one of the most controversial and misunderstood segments of modern British society.

After anchoring the recent ‘Assassin’s Creed’, Michael Fassbender continues his trend of alternating between mainstream Hollywood and independent film by starring as ‘Chad Cutler’; young father-of-two, husband of ‘Kelly’ (Lyndsey Marshal) and member of a community of travellers in rural Britain, trying to build a future away from the criminal life he’s grown up with while somehow staying loyal to his fiercely independent tribe and their authoritarian patriarch ‘Colby’ (Brendan Gleeson).

Making a film about Irish traveller communities in Britain, or ‘Gypsies’ as they’re less politically correctly known, can be a controversial endeavour considering how they divide popular opinion across the country, not to mention being relatively rare in modern British cinema—apart from the entertaining caricature painted by Brad Pitt in ‘Snatch’. But with ‘Trespass Against Us’ Smith attempts to acknowledge some of the polarising issues while combining them with a relatable family drama, set in the backdrop of a stylish and gripping British crime flick with an energising score from ‘The Chemical Brothers’ . . . but with limited success it must be said.

Rather than making a typical gritty British crime drama which revolves around graphic violence and/or a big set-piece heist, Smith opts for a family drama and story of fathers & sons set in the backdrop of criminality, and within a part of British society which rarely sees the light of day when it comes to art and entertainment. And most of the tension in the film comes from ‘Chad’s’ internal struggle between wanting a different life for his family and his suspicion of the outside world, amplified by his father’s outsider complex and hatred of the ‘Gorgers’ (non-gypsies), reflecting the real attitudes held by many travellers which is matched by how the general society fells about them, fuelling a two-way vortex of fear and resentment.

‘Trespass Against Us’ is no doubt sympathetic to the generally maligned traveller community, despite depicting the criminal element within, ultimately telling a story of fierce family loyalty and the kind of deep familial love which anyone can relate to . . . albeit one that’s expressed with more profanity than you can shake a stick at. But this isn’t exactly an unduly flattering portrayal either, skimming the surface of some harsh truths about the disdain that some elements of the traveller community have for British common law, and their lack of consideration for the huge negative effect they can have on local communities where they set up shop.

However director Smith almost completely overlooks what travellers are most known for here—bare-knuckle boxing, instead opting for getaway driving as the action set-piece focus in the story and main skill of his protagonist, making for some entertaining car chases as ‘Chad’ leads the local police a merry dance. But the genuine moments of action and tension in the film are very few and far between, making ‘Trespass Against Us’ a rather tame and uninspired crime story . . . if really one at all.

It doesn’t fare much better as a moving or engrossing drama either, despite the efforts of its two distinguished leads and a talented supporting cast of British talent, which include the ever unsettling Sean Harris and always dependable Rory Kinnear, plus child-actor novice Georgie Smith as the young ‘Cutler’. It’s ultimately just not that moving or insightful, let alone imaginative as an indie drama within an oversubscribed genre with far more compelling examples, in the end the outlaw/rebel narrative of the traveller community and the tenuous parallels with the life of Christ ends up being the most interesting part of the film, leaving a lingering sense of an opportunity missed.

The Bottom Line…

A lacklustre crime story and prosaic family drama which squanders the potential of its gifted cast; ‘Trespass Against Us’ is a fairly watchable but distinctly unmemorable British drama which relies on the always compelling Michael Fassbender and irrepressible Brendan Gleeson to breathe life into a flat narrative, but whose only real selling point is the relative novelty of its setting.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

King of the Travellers (2012)

Hell-bent on getting revenge for his father’s killing, a determined boxing traveller’s mission is turned upside down when he falls for the daughter of the man he suspects of the murder, leaving him caught between loyalty to his family and the woman he loves in this gritty Irish drama.

Directed by Mark O’Connor and starring John Connors, Peter Coonan and Michael Collins among others.

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