Trespass Against Us

Another astonishing and raw performance from Michael Fassbander, who plays an uneducated father of the family desperately trying to unchain himself from his father's robber-gang. The brutal moment when you realize you are in under influence of something evil or bad, but you're incapable of changing things and you get mad at the whole world. But the fault is on you, because you weren't strong enough to free yourself out of the chains in the first place. You have the choice to change it now, you have obligations towards your family and you have to choose what is best for them now, because you've lost your chance to help yourself.

Trepass against us, presented at the Toronto Film Festival in 2016, would like to tell so much, without however having the time and the tools to do so. It is unclear what theme the film is about to focus on. The spectator is confronted with the difficulties of nomadic life, father-son relationship, education and redemption, without however finding the time to immerse himself completely in any of them. The film, and often the spectator, feels the weight of two figures, such as Fassbender and Gleeson, who cover the roles of Chad and Colby. It would be understandable if one doubted that the two of were involved in the project to give him a boost (perhaps it needed it) rather than believing that their characters were so articulated that they needed the two actors' talent. Director Adam Smith, at his debut, is capable of talking about chases, sequences of action, and some hint of gangster comedy. It gives the movie adrenaline and the elements to be watchable, but not more than that. Often you are wondering why what you see is so as it is, as you are thinking that some characters have nothing to do with the world they live in. For example Chad. This is due to the rush of the director to arrive at the clue of the story, related to the characterization of the characters, which if is not flat, is mainstream and even trivial. This does not mean that the film is not touching, but it is less reflective than it should, and perhaps it would want to be.

Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson team up as a father and son criminal team with Gleeson being the brains, while Fassbender doing all the leg work. Gleeson as Colby is so deep in the game that he knows nothing else and refuses anything else, an attitude he expects from his son Chad, played by Fassbender but Chad has enough of a foot outside the game to know that he desperately does not want his young son Tyson to follow down this bloodline, even if Colby sees nothing wrong with the hand Jesus gave him (Colby is a God loving crook).

The film is about Chad being stuck in his outlaw life style. He wants it to be over but he has no options as he can't read or write, which blows my mind that a man in this day and age has no grasp at all of the language he's speaking, but it happens, and he's doing everything he can to make sure his son is educated.

One really cool thing I should mention about the film is the fact that it has some really awesome car chases in it. Not the main purpose of the film but Fassbender does play a getaway driver and his getaway driving was great.

It's a great performance piece coming from all the actors with Fassbender and Gleeson leading the charge. It really has that going for it as it's very small and really sweet and met to hit a nerve with those who know what it's like to be stuck and want better but just seem incapable of doing it.

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Fassbender is a good actor as is Brendan Gleeson and the story is a good one.

It is hard to understand what they say & i am Scottish!! It's all gypo ( gypsie) talk and anyone from anywhere else other than the UK is going to have a hard time with this - subtitles needed :)

The story is a well trodden one - where the main character wants to change his life but is enmeshed in the culture he was brought up in and it's taking him down.

Some good car chases - even through fields!! Someone said it has no redeeming qualities but ultimately it's not Hollywood and there are no happy endings. A good gritty story with tension and a fair bit of action - food character study - Fassbender does a good job here.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

The Cutlers are a traveller family living on the outskirts of Gloustershire. Colby (Brendan Gleeson) is the patriarch of the clan, the father figure with a contempt for authority, the education system and various other outside institutions that don't fit around the gypsy lifestyle. He uses a dummy of a policeman for target practise, and organizes raids on million dollar mansions owned by the rich. His son Chad (Michael Fassbender) wants a better life for his son Tyson (Georgie Smith), who he sends to a mainstream school, and wants out of the gypsy world. But after a raid on a judge's home goes awry, he finds himself plunged into a situation that spirals out of control, as the police crack down hard on them.

My local community has, in recent times, suffered at the hands of the travelling community, who've caused disruption rolling up on various car parks and such (in schools, and cinemas, ironically enough...), leaving much mess behind and taking up valuable police resources in getting rid of them. This lawless culture would seem to leave a blight on many places around the country, with similar tales being reported in various media outlets. With his feature length debut, director Adam Smith attempts to bring the world to the forefront in a traditional crime story about loyalty, honour and respect that doesn't reach any dizzying heights, but still demands your attention and keeps you gripped till the end.

It's one of those films where the performances drive the movie, and the star of the show would have to be Gleason, who has the most effective presence as the head of the clan, commanding respect and undivided attention from his brethren, but a definite runner up would be Fassbender, who creates an authentic embodiment of a real life gypsy, from his language to his mannerisms and swagger. A supporting cast including Lyndsey Marshal and Sean Harris, have equal kudos, but unavoidably have more limited screen time to display it.

Story wise, it's compelling and mighty enough, but there's just not enough of a solid structure to it to make it quite as dynamic as it could have been. Still, it could have been a lot worse, and Smith at least has the respite to include some humour in the proceedings in the form of some witty writing. You won't come away loving gypsies any more, but you'll at least be woken up to the filmic potential their background provides. ***