The Trespasser Review

Corrupt builders hire a hit man to eliminate their scrupulous partner.

by William Thomas |
Published on
Release Date:

13 Sep 2002

Running Time:

97 minutes

Certificate:

18

Original Title:

Trespasser, The

Despite landing an award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, this is a disappointingly flat thriller from the supposedly promising Brazilian director, Beto Brant.

It’s as if he doesn’t trust the material lifted from Marcal Aquino’s novel, as he swamps it with stylistic flourishes that prevent the narrative from gathering any momentum. The action opens with corrupt builders Alexandre Borges and Marco Ricca hiring a hit man to eliminate their scrupulous partner (George Freire).

Paulo Miklos proves a match for them, as he inveigles his way into their business and into the heart of Freire’s daughter (Mariana Ximenes). Clearly Brant is seduced by their subversive romance, since he neglects Ricca’s far more interesting crisis of conscience. And then there’s the thuddingly-awful soundtrack...

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