Fassbender and Gleeson in Trespass Against Us. Image via BBC First British Film Festival.
The worst crime anyone can commit in Trespass Against Us is betrayal. Set in a makeshift camp-like community of roaming travellers and thieves, the film is steeped in law-, rule- and societal convention-breaking behaviour; however splitting from the pack, eschewing its ways and threatening its security prove the gravest sins. And, it’s just what Chad Cutler (Michael Fassbender, The Light Between Oceans) is contemplating after spending his whole life under the watchful, controlling gaze of his forceful, tracksuit-wearing father, Colby (Brendan Gleeson, Suffragette). His decision stems from his own offspring, Tyson (film debutant Georgie Smith) and Mini (fellow newcomer Kacie Anderson), and from a wife, Kelly (Lyndsey Marshal, TV’s Silent Witness), keen on giving them a sense of normality.
It’s a common scenario, that of a child rebelling against the only existence he’s ever known and the only security he’s ever experienced in order to forge his own identity. In fact, it’s the stuff that coming-of-age fare is made of. That remains applicable in a film primarily concerned with the machinations of adults, and steeped in the hallmarks of multi-generational misdeeds, high-stakes heists, and cat-and-mouse games with the local police (Rory Kinnear, Penny Dreadful). Here, tensions still rise, heated words are exchanged, fresh paths are forged and new revelations are made apparent.
Thankfully, while the underlying formula is as evident as the prominent Northern British accents, familiarity also heightens Trespass Against Us — as do slivers of humour. Indeed, recognising and dissecting the dynamics at play allows first-time feature director Adam Smith (Doctor Who) and writer Alastair Siddons to look closely at their characters, warts, dark comedy and all, as well as at the emotions they’re grappling with. Chad’s turmoil is always splashed across his face, as is Colby’s sense of authority, but laughing at tall tales remains part of their DNA. And yet, as the family that pulls off robberies at wealthy houses together becomes one that’s destined for more time apart, disharmony follows perceived disloyalty, and the furrows on Fassbender and Gleeson’s faces get deeper.
Though one remains roguishly tentative, and the other proves as commanding — and conniving — as can be, in Smith’s hands, they’re two sides of the same coin. And so, like a ghost of a future that both has and hasn’t come to fruition, Gleeson plays the elder man as a patriarch, adversary and warning all in one. Sometimes offering fatherly advice with a smile, sometimes virtually spitting his decrees, sometimes manipulating darker days to come, watching him slyly but gruffly amble about the screen provides much of Trespass Against Us’ heft. While mostly surrounded by fine performances — Sean Harris’ (Macbeth) overplayed outcast not withstanding — observing Fassbender’s response, and his efforts to ensure that Chad does more than just react to Colby, inspires much of the film’s success as well.
This might be Smith’s initial stint helming a feature, but there’s no sign of inexperience in the polished package he conjures up. As a collaborator with the Chemical Brothers since their first gig more than two decades ago, the man behind many of their music videos, and the director of the electronic duo’s 2012 concert film Don’t Think, he’s well versed in telling a tale with sound and vision. And, he enlists a precisely deployed, subtly pulsating score from his long-term colleagues to help. Trespass Against Us’ images and pacing are crafted to match; though there’s a gritty sheen to the sights seen, there’s also energy and urgency, particularly when the movie is in chase mode.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Trespass Against Us
Director: Adam Smith
UK, 2016, 99 mins
Rating: MA
In general release: February 16, 2017
Distributor: Umbrella
BBC First British Film Festival 2016
http://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au/
Sydney – October 25 – November 16
Canberra – October 25 – November 16
Melbourne – October 26 – November 16
Perth – October 27 – November 16
Brisbane – October 27 – November 16
Adelaide – November 3 – 23
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