First time feature-film director Adam Smith establishes much in the opening minutes of the movie.
Our first image has the camera on the heels of a bullet-fast hare being chased and running for it's life through an endless meadow. Chasing, it seems, is a way of life for the backwoods thieving Cutler clan who we're about to meet.
The local British constabulary is usually doing the pursuing.
Chad Cutler (Michael Fassbender) squirms under the thumb of Colby, his domineering father, whose never-ending lifestyle of thievery sees no happy end. With a brother already trapped in prison, Chad looks at his young impressionable son and wonders whether he can offer him a different future.
To create a different path he must reassess Colby as a role model, and contemplate the unimaginable
to trespass against his father's wishes and put his own young family's well-being above the clan's. Ensuring an education – something his father denied him – seems to be the only escape route for his children's otherwise ill-fated future.
Colby, played by the indomitable Brendan Gleeson, is an uneducated patriarch whose limited worldview is a creeping cause for concern. His knack for planning successful robberies is now questionable, and he senses growing desperation and worry since it's become apparent his schemes are outdated and flawed. But knowing no other way of life, he hangs on, using whatever resources he can to keep his son, Chad, with him.
Michael Fassbender is an extremely talented actor and makes a powerful presence on the screen. Through him we witness Chad's struggle to be a dutiful son, loving husband and responsible father. With no formal schooling, no ability to read or write, his strongest skill is seen behind the wheel of a car in hot pursuit, he wrestles to make a choice on what kind of future he can offer his young family.
My rating: 76 /100
20 /25 – Overall
11 /15 – Directing
12 /15 – Acting
13 /15 – Cinematography (colour, angle, camera position)
06 /10 – Editing (rhythm, pace)
08 /10 – Script (dialogue, storyline)
06 /10 – Music/score (sound foley, costume, make-up casting)
