Marc Evans follows up the successful ‘My Little Eye’ with this British horror/thriller and it is similar to his last film in that it showed a lot of promise but wasn’t executed as well as it could have been.
Colin Firth turns his hand to a new type of role and is convincing as a man trying to cope with the loss of his wife, who finds himself caught up in a murder hunt.
The film was well shot and slickly edited, showcasing flash cuts, blurred shots and dissolves and overlays aplenty, all to effect, but a funky visual style and good performances from Firth, Mena Suvari (you’ve always got to have at least one American in a British film) Scots star Tommy Flanagan, Brenda Fricker and Naomie Harris of ’28 Days Later’ are not enough to make up for the confusing storyline.
Yes I was able to follow what was going on throughout, but the film simply had too many twists and turns to reveal in such a short space of time that these ‘twists’ did not have the impact that they should have.
The film also felt like it went on for too long but this was perhaps due to the depressing nature and dull tone of the subject matter.
If the film had had a slightly quicker pace and a little more action it would have been elevated that little bit higher.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Trauma is a well made film and indeed a decent watch, however it never really kicks into fifth gear.
