Trespass Movie Review

 

Written by James Ferguson


Movie released by Millennium Films

 

 

Directed by Joel Schumacher
Written by Karl Gajdusek
2011, 91 Minutes, Rated R
DVD released on November 1st, 2011

Starring
Nicolas Cage as Kyle Miller
Nicole Kidman as Sarah Miller
Ben Mendelsohn as Elias
Liana Liberato as Avery Miller
Cam Gigandet as Jonah
Jordana Spiro as Petal

 

Review:

 

Home invasion ranks up there as one of my top fears.  The list goes something like public restrooms, a Sarah Palin presidency, and then home invasion. You can understand how a movie based around the subject would be pretty intense stuff, which is what I expected going into Trespass.  Unfortunately this is helmed by Joel Schumacher, whose most noted accomplishment is ruining the Batman franchise.  The result is a complicated tale of robbery, lies, betrayal, mental illness, and drugs.

The film starts out with diamond dealer Kyle Miller (Nicolas Cage) returning home after trying to move a large stone.  His wife Sarah (Nicole Kidman) sees their marriage falling apart as Kyle is constantly away from home on business.  Meanwhile, their bratty teenage daughter Avery (Liana Liberato) wants to go out partying with her friends, but is shot down.  A couple of police officers show up at their door, claiming there have been a string of robberies in the area.  They turn out to be thieves themselves and bust in to steal the diamonds and/or cash that Kyle has.  This seems pretty straightforward so far and it certainly has the makings of a great thriller.  Then the plot starts taking sudden twists that left my head spinning by the end of the picture.  More and more pieces were added to the puzzle and things just weren't adding up to much of a story.  

The sudden reveals get almost laughable as they go on.  Nicolas Cage's involvement certainly doesn't help matters as his acting has deteriorated steadily since his performance in Valley Girl in 1983.  I honestly don't know how he continues to get work as he can't still be a box office draw.  His acting in this is horrendous.  Nicole Kidman is somewhat better, but she seems to be phoning it in.  By the end of the film, Cage stops trying as well, almost like he realized how stupid the plot had gotten by that point.  

Trespass is a ridiculous movie.  Unlike most bad movies I've seen, it firmly passes through the awful stage into "so bad it's good" territory.  You could easily see this as a feature on RiffTrax.  As a party movie this would be a fun watch, if for nothing else to witness a cinematic train wreck unfold.

 

Video, Audio and Special Features:


Video, audio and special features will not be graded as this was a screening.

 

 

Grades:

 


Movie:
Video: n/a
Audio: n/a
Features: n/a
Overall:

 

 

 

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James Ferguson
Lord of the Funny Books
James has a 2nd grade reading level and, as a result, only reads books with pictures. Horror is his 5th favorite genre right after romantic comedy and just before silent films. No one knows why he's here, but he won't leave.
Other articles by this writer

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