Trauma (2004)
Starring: Colin Firth, Mena Suvari, Naomie Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Sean Harris, Brenda Fricker, Ken Cranham
Director: Marc Evans
Running Time: 98 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Drama, Horror, Thriller
After crashing his car one rainswept night, artist Ben (Colin Firth) wakes from a coma, only to discover that his beloved wife Elisa (Naomie Harris) was killed in the accident. Delirious with grief for Elisa, at a time when everyone else is grieving the recent murder of pop superstar Lauren Parris, Ben moves into a new apartment built over a morgue, in an attempt to rebuild his broken memory and life. His recovery is helped somewhat by his regular sessions with a psychiatrist whom he has been seeing ever since the death of his mother during his childhood - and his friendly new neighbour Charlotte (Mena Suvari) seems to fill in the void left by Elisa's death - but Ben's mind continues to play tricks on him, and when Inspector Jackson (Ken Cranham) accuses him of stalking and implicates him in the slaying of Lauren Parris, Ben is forced to confront some uncomfortable questions: why does he keep seeing the dead Elisa? who keeps obliterating the paintings and photos of her in his apartment? what connects him to Lauren Parris? and is it just coincidence that Charlotte shares her name with the aunt who looked after him, and then abandoned him, as a boy?
Not to be confused with Dario Argento's film of the same name, 'Trauma' is, like David Cronenberg's Spider' (2002), a gothic psychological thriller with a tragic twist, about a damaged man trying to get back his grip on reality in the dingier by-ways of London - and it acknowledges this debt to Cronenberg in full by prominently featuring several spiders, both fake and real, in the web of its plot. Director Marc Evans has brought from his last film, 'My Little Eye', an obsession with surveillance and the media. Characters seen on TV news reports enter Ben's room moments later, Ben finds his own image lurking in the background of photos in celebrity magazines, and in one particularly unnerving episode near the film's beginning, everyone around Ben in a busy open market suddenly freezes, revealing that he has unwittingly walked through, and been filmed in, a police reconstruction scene. All this, along with some disorienting flashbacks and jumpcuts, creates a kaleidoscopic fragmentation of reality in which the viewer feels as lost and paranoid as Ben himself.
From playing the original Darcy in the BBC's 'Pride and Prejudice' to a modern-day Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary, as well as having principal parts in mainstream romcoms like 'Fever Pitch', Hope Springs and What a Girl Wants, Colin Firth is the British romantic lead par excellence, and the very presence of his name on the marquee guarantees 'Trauma' a broader audience than a film so bleakly nightmarish might otherwise garner. It is not, however, just for commercial reasons that this is an ingenious piece of casting, for Firth is here once again playing his typical rôle as a romantic dreamer - only one who is waking up to a far less salubrious reality - and he makes an effective transition within the film from confused lover to just plain confused. Mena Suvari, the other big-name star in 'Trauma', cannot quite match up to Firth's acting abilities, but again she is cleverly cast, reprising from 'American Beauty' a rôle that is half projected male fantasy and half ordinary girl-next-door (literally, in the case of 'Trauma').
Not a film to watch if you are looking for Firth's usual feel-good factor, but if you like atmosphere, amnesia, angst and ants (and who doesn't?), 'Trauma' has it all - and as the first film from Ministry of Fear, a new horror offshoot from successful production company Little Bird, it heralds a new era of quality British gothic cinema.
It's Got: Creepy gothic sets, disorienting use of film within film, a surprisingly unhinged performance from Colin Firth, some reality-jarring twists, and a mood of tragic melancholy.
It Needs: A psychiatrist.
Alternatives: Spider' (2002), 'Don't Look Now', Fight Club, 'Eraserhead'
Summary: Superbly grim and unsettling psychological thriller in which Colin Firth at last gets to show his stubbly side.
Review Date: 24th August 2004
External Links
Official Web Site
Trauma at the IMDB
Comments7 Comments |
| The link you have as the official website for TRAUMA - IS NOT!!! That's a fan site. No feud here, Just want to be accurate. The official page is on Myriad Pictures website Ed: Diane, thanks so much for pointing this out. We have changed the link. |
| Comment by:- Diane DeMore | www.firthessence.net/main.html... | 24 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| I recently saw Trauma at the National Film Theatre in London and loved it, even more than I thought I would. Although there are some scary scenes it is quite far from being a horror film, I'd say it's closer to a psychological drama. The main character, Ben (Colin Firth) wakes up from a coma to find out that his wife has died in a car crash. While he is trying to grieve and get on with his life, the country is mourning the death of a famous singer, Lauren Parris. Slowly but surely Ben loses his grip on reality and doesn't know what he's imagining and what is real. I thought the performances were brilliant and I particularly enjoyed the visuals, for instance images shown very quickly and not really "flowing" which reflected the confusing in Ben's mind. |
| Comment by:- Amelie | colinfirth.topcities.com... | 27 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| The best film I've seen for a long long time. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw it. I'd recomend it to anyone! |
| Comment by:- Squirrel Nutkins | | 31 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| This is the official site for Trauma and it's quite innovative and fun: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/trauma/?frompromo=movies_maintouts_Trauma Myriad is merely a sales agent for the film. |
| Comment by:- Zoe | | 13 September 2004 | ip: logged |
| I have just been to see Trauma at my local cinema and found appalling! I would not recommend this film to anyone. Colin Firth is a good actor and his talents are wasted on this film. |
| Comment by:- Nik | | 18 September 2004 | ip: logged |
| I watched the film last night with a bunch of mates, and we were all in 'trauma' when it ended on the most confusing note pssible. What was that all about?? Very strange way to end the film. Wouldn't particularly recommend this film unless your a colin firth fan and want to see him do something different, or your a student and can get in cheap somewhere. 5/10 |
| Comment by:- Nick (on behalf of stu, chris & saad) | | 24 September 2004 | ip: logged |
| Just another blank thriller with plenty of out-dated cliches. Definitely a waste of time. |
| Comment by:- M.S. | | 04 April 2005 | ip: logged |
