Trauma is a 2004 psychological thriller directed by Marc Evans and written by Richard Smith.

Plot synopsis

• Awaking from a coma to discover his wife has been killed in a car accident, Ben's (Colin Firth) world may as well have come to an end. A few weeks later, Ben's out of hospital and, attempting to start a new life, he moves home and is befriended by a beautiful young neighbour Charlotte (Mena Suvari). His life may be turning around but all is not what it seems and, haunted by visions of his dead wife, Ben starts to lose his grip on reality...

Cast

• Colin Firth as Ben
• Mena Suvari as Charlotte
• Naomie Harris as Elisa
• Sean Harris as Roland
• Neil Edmond as Mills

Critical Reaction

• Most of the critical reviews of this film originate from the United Kingdom where the film was originally released.
• The film is described by critics as a psychological thriller in the same vein as David Cronenberg Memento Jacob's Ladder ^*;" target="_blank" >however, most find that the film pails in comparison with Eye Weekley calling it "just another pretentious Jacob's Ladder knockoff [http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_09.09.04/film/tiff.html."
• The film has been described as stylish, with iofilm calling it "a triumph of style over content Shadows on the Wall adds, "Evans fills the screen with... moody, atmospheric, and evocative visuals Filmcritic.com says the film has "The Ring-inspired creepy imagery [http://filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/84dbbfa4d710144986256c290016f76e/24c475479245fa6a882570010016aab9?OpenDocument" target="_blank" >^*."
  • Neil Young's Film Lounge describes the film's visual in this way: "Evans (along with cinematographer John Mathieson, production-designer Richard Smith and editor Mags Arnold) tries desperately to jazz everything up, deploying all manner of distorted visuals - extreme camera angles and close-ups, plus over-atmospheric lighting effects and jagged cuts - in a strenuous attempt to get us into Ben's tormented state-of-mind ^*."
• Reviews find the film "confusing" rather than "clever" "There's absolutely no logic or sense in Trauma" says filmcritic.com [http://filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/84dbbfa4d710144986256c290016f76e/24c475479245fa6a882570010016aab9?OpenDocument.
• Pacing is another issue critics feel is damaging to the viewer's experience, becoming "very boring very quickly with "Evans imbuing... an incredibly slow pace [http://www.reelfilm.com/tiff0410.htm#trauma."
• Actor Colin Firth's performance is the most praised aspect of the film. "He delivers a performance which highlights the range of his considerable talent cites one critic. eFilmCritic says Firth "does the best with what he's given iofilm says, "Firth puts in a sterling performance in the central role ^*."" target="_blank" >Reel Film Reviews adds "Firth's performance, not surprisingly, is the best thing about the movie, and the actor does a nice job of portraying Ben's increasing paranoia [http://www.reelfilm.com/tiff0410.htm#trauma."

Trivia

Film Festivals

• Sundance Film Festival
• Cannes Film Market
• Edinburgh Film Festival
• Toronto Film Festival
• Lund Fantastisk Film Festival
• Athens Film Festival
• Gérardmer Fantasticarts Film Festival
• Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films
• München Fantasy Filmfest

Filming Locations

• Canary Wharf
• Isle of Dogs
• Isle of Man
• London, England, UK

Opening Weekend

• Gross: £144,148
• Location: UK
• Date: 19 September 2004
• Number of Screens: 176 Screens

Miscellanea

• Filming Dates: 30 April 2003 - ??

• Tagline: Believe what you see what you believe.

• Crazy Credits: The end of the credits have two unusual cast listings; the first is "Featured Ants" (in order of Appear"ants") which is a list of sixty of so names all beginning with the letter A. This is swiftly followed by another small list of 5 "Stunt Ants".

External links

• Trauma Official Site
• IMDb Profile of Trauma

British films | 2004 films | Thriller films | Horror films | Mystery films