The Cutlers are hunters and gatherers, an archaic family clan who never accepted the rules of society and roam the fringes of UK society, taking whatever they need. The Cutler’s lifestyle appears like a family adventure trip across the English province during the day, but at night there are risky raids with cat and mouse games with the police at the end. Chad (Michael Fassbender) is the King of this game, so far ahead of the police he has time to buy cigarettes at the gas station while on the run.

Just like his protagonists, director Adam Smith is most at home when the rhythm is fast. He lets the Cutlers collide with the law with a fantastic sense of pace and kinetics during their nightly pursuits. TRESPASS AGAINST US transforms from a gangster film at night to a family drama during the day. Chad’s father, family patriarch Colby (Brendan Gleeson) pushes to continue their way of life while Chad tries to look for a way to enable his children to have a place in a society that the Cutlers have sworn off.

TRESPASS AGAINST US is more of a family drama than a gangster thriller. Smith directs the generational conflict as restlessly as the nightly pursuits and abruptly jumps between gentle moments to brutal milieu study time and time again. The powerful tones that Smith hits in his debut aren’t given enough time to resonate and the film relentlessly moves forward before the consequences of the brutality can be felt.

Karsten Munt

Translation: Elinor Lewy