Trespass

After a prolific filmmaking career that spans three decades and includes several Hollywood blockbusters, nobody could blame Joel Schumacher for easing into retirement.

But the 72-year-old director doesn’t seem interested in moving to Florida and lounging on the beach. Instead, he’s hammering away on independent thrillers such as Trespass, a half-baked home invasion flick that fails to sustain its tension.

It’s hardly a showcase for the best work of Schumacher or Oscar winners Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman, who play a wealthy couple whose commitment, along with personal safety, is threatened by intruders during an otherwise quiet night at home.

Cage plays Kyle, a jeweler whose schedule allows little time to spend with his wife, Sarah (Kidman) and his rebellious teenage daughter (Liana Liberato). But when he does find a quiet night at home, it is interrupted by a break-in by thieves who hold the family for ransom.

Then the questions start popping up. Are there really diamonds in the safe? Did Kyle instead squander the fortune or just hide it for safekeeping? Is the motivation of one of the robbers (Ben Mendelsohn) to secure money for a life-saving medical procedure? And did his young counterpart (Cam Gigandet) really have a previous encounter with Sarah?

Schumacher and rookie screenwriter Karl Gajdusek develop a fair amount of suspense, thanks to some taut plot twists that allow the film to evolve from a thriller about physical confrontations to more of a psychological game of cat-and-mouse. However, it’s too thin and formulaic to work at feature length.

Schumacher’s slick direction takes advantage of the claustrophobic setting, as just about the entire film is set inside a house filled with a high-tech security system, upscale furniture, and expensive knickknacks that are easily breakable.

Cage takes a more cerebral action-hero approach by trying to outwit rather than outmuscle his captors. Kidman, meanwhile, brings a balance of strength and vulnerability to a role that offers a low-grade change of pace from some of her more prestigious projects of late.

The talent on both sides of the camera makes Trespass more compelling than it probably should be, but they can’t rescue a premise that becomes so far-fetched in the final act that it loses all credibility.

Rated R, 91 minutes.