''Trespass'' is a 2011 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

thriller film directed by

Joel Schumacher Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. H ...

, from a screenplay by

Karl Gajdusek Karl Gajdusek is an American screenwriter, producer, and playwright. He was the showrunner for the first season of the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' and the co-creator of the TV series '' Last Resort'' with Shawn Ryan. They were both also ex ...

. It stars

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

as a married couple taken hostage by extortionists. It also stars

Ben Mendelsohn Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn (born 3 April 1969) is an Australian actor. He first rose to prominence in Australia for his breakout role in ''The Year My Voice Broke'' (1987) and since then he has had roles in films such as '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010) ...

Cam Gigandet Cameron Joslin Gigandet (; born August 16, 1982) is an American actor whose credits include a recurring role on ''The O.C.'' and appearances in feature films ''Twilight'', ''Pandorum'', ''Never Back Down'', '' Burlesque'', ''Easy A'', ''Priest'' ...

Liana Liberato Liana Daine Liberato (born August 20, 1995) is an American actress. She played the younger version of the female lead in the 2014 film '' The Best of Me'' and starred in the drama films '' The Last Sin Eater'' (2007) and ''Trust'' (2010), the thr ...

Jordana Spiro Jordana Spiro (born April 12, 1977) is an American actress, director, and writer. As an actress, she has starred in numerous films and television series including Netflix's ''Ozark'' and TBS comedy television program ''My Boys''. Her debut feat ...

Dash Mihok Dashiell Raymond Mihok (; born May 24, 1974) is an American actor and director best known for playing Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in the Showtime drama ''Ray Donovan''. Early life Mihok was born in New York City, the son of theater actors Andrea Mi ...

Emily Meade Emily Meade (born January 10, 1989) is an American film and television actress. She has appeared in films such as '' Twelve'' (2010), ''My Soul to Take'' (2010), ''Gimme Shelter'' (2013), ''That Awkward Moment'' (2014), ''Money Monster'' (2016), a ...

and

Nico Tortorella Nico Tortorella (born July 30, 1988) is an American actor and model, known for roles in filmsincluding ''Scream 4'', the Fox crime drama series ''The Following'' (2013–2015), and the TV Land comedy-drama series '' Younger'' (2015–2021). Fro ...

. It had its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on September 14, 2011. It was released in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

on October 14, 2011, by

Millennium Entertainment Alchemy (formerly Millennium Entertainment) was an American independent global film distributor based in Los Angeles, California. The company acquired and distributed feature films, television series and specialty programming. History Millennium ...

. It is the last film to be directed by

before his death on June 22, 2020.

Plot

The film opens with fast-talking businessman and

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

dealer Kyle Miller (

) speaking to a client over the phone as he returns to his lavish

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

home in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

, his wife Sarah (

) and his teenage daughter Avery (

). Despite the charming facade, it is immediately clear that the family is dysfunctional and emotionally distant: Avery disrespects her parents and, despite being forbidden to do so, sneaks out of the house to go to a party with her friend Kendra, at the home of a guy named Jake. Sarah appears bored with life as a housewife and yearns for more in her marriage while Kyle seems to harbor a hidden aversion towards his wife. Just as Kyle is about to leave for a business transaction, the house is suddenly invaded by a gang of robbers masquerading as police. The thieves - consisting of leader Elias (

) his

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

girlfriend Petal (

), his younger brother Jonah (

) and a large intimidating man named Ty (

) - tell Kyle and Sarah that they have been spying on them for some time and are aware of the large amounts of cash and diamonds hidden in their home. They command Kyle to open a safe hidden in the wall but, despite the threat of a

syringe A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside ...

containing

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

chemicals, he defiantly refuses, believing that he and Sarah will be killed if he simply gives in to their demands. Meanwhile, Sarah recognizes Jonah through his mask. Through a series of Jonah's flashbacks and a conversation with Elias, it is strongly implied that Sarah and Jonah had a previous affair when the latter was employed as a technician to install the house's security system. Unbeknownst to Elias, Sarah secretly steals the syringe from him during this conversation. Having left her party in disgust (after the host Jake clumsily attempted to seduce her), Avery returns home and, after a brief chase, is also captured and taken to her parents. Elias appeals to Kyle, claiming that he needs money to pay for a

kidney transplantation Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantati ...

for his dying mother and that, if Kyle refuses to comply, he will instead take one of Avery's kidneys. Sarah catches Elias off-guard and holds him hostage with the syringe. Forced into a

Mexican standoff A Mexican standoff is a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. Any party initiating aggression might trigger its own demise. At the same time, the parties are unable to extricate themselves from the sit ...

, the thieves compromise by letting Avery escape in exchange for Kyle opening the safe. He does so, revealing it to be completely empty. Kyle explains that he is actually bankrupt and has no money; his house and all of his possessions were bought on loaned credit. Enraged, Elias breaks Kyle's hand and instead demands material compensation by taking Sarah's prized diamond necklace. However, Kyle reveals that this is a completely worthless

cubic zirconia Cubic zirconia (CZ) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). The synthesized material is hard and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors. It should not be confused with zircon, which is a zirconi ...

replica. Ty recaptures Avery from outside and brings her back into the house. Kyle volunteers for his own kidney to be taken instead of his daughter's, but Elias reveals that it was a ploy and that he hated his mother, who is already dead. Ty grows impatient after receiving a phone call and commands Elias to hurry up; Kyle realizes that the burglars are themselves being coerced into committing the heist against their will. The thieves then separate the Miller family, with Kyle and Avery being tied up and guarded in the living room and Sarah being pursued by Jonah in the kitchen. Jonah states to Sarah that he still loves her and promises that she and Avery will be left unhurt. Meanwhile, Kyle uses a lighter to burn both his own and Avery's binds; they attempt an escape and set off the house's security system. Kyle ends up in a struggle with Ty and, despite Ty's superior strength and fighting skills, Kyle manages to inject a portion of the syringe chemicals into his arm, causing him to fall unconscious. Thinking that Ty is dead, Elias shoots Kyle in the leg and reveals his true motives; that he is a

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by ...

working for an organized crime syndicate. Shortly after being given a job to sell $180,000 worth of drugs, Elias and Petal were carjacked at gunpoint and all of their shipments were promptly stolen. Faced with threats of retribution, Elias was then forced to commit a heist (under the supervision of henchman Ty) to pay off his debt. Jonah, who had previously seen the Miller residence, suggested it as a place to rob. Avery attempts to run out of the house again but is caught by Jonah. Under the threat of her parents being killed, she is forced to answer a call from the security company and successfully convinces them to call off the police. However, a security guard shows up nevertheless, prompting Jonah to kill him, when said guard recognizes Jonah as a former employee. Kyle reveals to Elias that the only thing of any worth on him is his

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

. Desperate and out of options, Elias kicks Kyle down and prepares to kill him. At the last second, Avery remembers the money she saw at the earlier party and pleads with the thieves that she can help them steal it from the party if they spare her father's life. Elias reluctantly agrees to the proposition and sends Petal to supervise Avery as she drives to the party house and ensure that she keeps her word (during a conversation between Elias and Petal it is revealed their daughter was taken into foster care). Although Avery's initial idea is to seduce Jake and then steal his money, she is horrified when Petal begins to deliriously proclaim that she plans to massacre all of the party guests and then take the cash. Seeing a swerving road ahead, Avery accelerates the car, unbuckles Petal's seat belt, and intentionally crashes into a telephone pole, incapacitating Petal and allowing Avery to handcuff Petal to the steering wheel. Back at the Miller home, Sarah learns that Kyle had discovered a picture of her kissing Jonah from security footage and was suspicious for some time that she had been unfaithful. However, Sarah insists that she is innocent and only loves Kyle; the same flashback is now shown from her perspective, revealing that Jonah is in fact

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

(and off his medications) and that the supposed love affair between him and Sarah was all in his head. The "kiss" had occurred to Sarah's complete surprise and against her will. At this point, Ty reawakens from his stupor and attacks Sarah. Enraged, Jonah tackles Ty and the two fight. Just as Ty is about to strangle Jonah to death, Elias shoots him in the back for trying to kill his brother. However, in his dying breath, Ty reveals to Elias that he had been set up all along: the "robbers" stealing his drug shipment were actually fellow members of the same crime organization and the operation was done in order to

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

him into stealing more money for them. More damningly, Ty also claims that Jonah had masterminded the entire plan so he could have an excuse to return to the Miller residence and profess his love to Sarah. Elias is shocked by the allegations but refuses to believe them (though doubt about his brother does seem to creep in). Through the chaos, Sarah and a wounded Kyle escape to the tool shed behind the house and are pursued by Elias and Jonah. After a brief fight, the thieves break through a partition in their tussling and to their surprise discover a large amount of money that's been hidden in the shed; Kyle reveals that he had sold Sarah's real diamond necklace and was saving the money as a nest egg for his family when he noticed his business/fortunes declining. As Elias and Jonah begin to collect the cash, Avery appears (having survived the car crash with minor injuries) and points a gun at them. Elias calls her bluff and claims she can shoot but he will still have time to shoot one of her parents, he then aims his gun at Sarah - but he is shot from behind and killed by Jonah for this. Jonah tries again to convince Sarah that she belongs with him but she rebuffs his offers, calling him insane. In an attempt to sacrifice himself, Kyle tells his wife and daughter to run while setting the money in the tool shed on fire. He also shoots Jonah's foot with a

nail gun A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a form of hammer used to drive nails into wood or other materials. It is usually driven by compressed air (pneumatic), electromagnetism, highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated ...

, trapping him in the shed. While Avery goes to call the police, Sarah tries to help Kyle but she is grabbed in a last-ditch effort by Jonah, who is convinced that it is destiny for her to die together with him in the fire. However, Kyle then shoots him in the neck, causing him to fall and become engulfed in the flames. Sarah then carries Kyle away to safety just as the shed collapses. In the backyard, Kyle tries to tell Sarah to let him die so that she and Avery can survive on his life insurance fund but she refuses, stating that she loves him regardless of whether he has money or not. Avery runs back to her parents announcing that help is finally on the way. The three family members embrace as the real police arrive and surround the house.

Cast

as Kyle Miller *

as Sarah Miller *

as Jonah *

as Petal *

as Elias *

as Avery Miller *

as Ty *

as Jake *

as Kendra * Terry Milam as Travis * Brandon Belknap as Dylan *

Tina Parker Tina Parker is an American actress and director known for her role of Francesca Liddy, Saul Goodman's assistant on ''Breaking Bad'' and ''Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by ...

as Security Operator * Dave Maldonado as Security Guard * Nilo Otero as Mr. Big * Simona Williams as Mrs. Big * Matthan Harris as Party Guest * Christopher Márquez as Party Goer * Caroline M. Schreiber as Party Girl * Sam Velasquez as Party Boy *

Stephen Stanton Stephen Walter Stanton (born August 22, 1961) is an American voice actor and visual effects artist. His roles include Sasha Nein in ''Psychonauts'' and ''Psychonauts 2'', Grand Moff Tarkin in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, Admiral Raddus in ''Rogu ...

* Marchello Stewart as Date * Gracie Whitton as Young Avery * Joshua Wilkins as Partygoer

Production

Production was disrupted on August 3, 2010 when it was reported that Cage had abandoned the project as he had allegedly insisted on switching roles from Kidman's husband to the kidnapper. According to reports, the role was then offered to

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywoo ...

. However the following day Cage resumed his role as the husband. Due to the confusion over casting, the production start date was moved from August 16 to 30. Proof of filming showed up on ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

''s online site. In the photo, Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage are being held at gunpoint. The film marks the second collaboration between Schumacher and cinematographer

Andrzej Bartkowiak Andrzej Bartkowiak, A.S.C. (born 6 March 1950) is a Polish cinematographer and film director. Career In the early 1980s, Bartkowiak was cinematographer on three films that received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: ''The Verdict'', ' ...

after working together on ''

Falling Down ''Falling Down'' is a 1993 American action film directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith and released by Warner Bros. in the United States on February 26, 1993. The film stars Michael Douglas in the lead role of William Foster, a di ...

''. This is also Bartkowiak's first project in cinematography since he filmed '' Thirteen Days'' and began his career as a film director.

Reception

Critical response

''Trespass'' was panned by critics and has a rating of 11% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 76 reviews with an average score of 3.3 out of 10. The consensus states: "Another claustrophobic thriller that Joel Schumacher can churn out in his sleep, ''Trespass'' is nasty and aggressive, more unpleasant than entertaining." Criticism focused primarily on the film's script and plot, including its great resemblance to the Spanish film ''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

''. However, the film also received some positive reviews from mainstream critics, praising the performances of Kidman, Gigandet, and Mendelsohn. Mary Pols of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine named it one of the Top 10 Worst Movies of 2011. The film earned a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

nomination for Nicolas Cage as Worst Actor (also for ''

Drive Angry ''Drive Angry'' (alternatively titled ''Drive Angry 3D'') is a 2011 American action horror film in the grindhouse cinema tradition, directed by Patrick Lussier, who co-wrote it with Todd Farmer. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, Willia ...

'' and '' Season of the Witch''), but lost to

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

for ''

Jack and Jill "Jack and Jill" (sometimes "Jack and Gill", particularly in earlier versions) is a traditional English nursery rhyme. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the commonest tune and its variations as number 10266, although it has been set to severa ...

'' and ''

Just Go with It ''Just Go with It'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, and Heather Parry. It is a remake of the 1969 film '' Cactus Flower'', ...

''.

Box office

''Trespass'' was given a limited release for one week in ten theaters in North America and earned $24,094 and an additional $9,988,226 internationally on a production budget of $35 million.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Joel Schumacher 2011 films 2011 crime thriller films 2011 psychological thriller films 2011 thriller drama films 2010s heist films American crime thriller films American heist films American psychological thriller films American thriller drama films 2010s English-language films Films about families Films directed by Joel Schumacher Films shot in Louisiana Home invasions in film Films about hostage takings Nu Image films Saturn Films films 2011 drama films Films scored by David Buckley Films set in country houses 2010s American films