''Trauma'' is a 2004 British

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film directed by

Marc Evans Marc Evans (born 1960) is a Welsh director of film and television, whose credits include the films ''House of America'', ''Resurrection Man (film), Resurrection Man'' and ''My Little Eye''. Biography Evans was born in 1960 in Cardiff, Wales. H ...

and written by Richard Smith.

Plot

Ben (

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

) awakens from a coma to discover his wife has been killed in a car accident. A few weeks later, Ben is out of the hospital and, attempting to start a new life, he moves home and is befriended by a beautiful young neighbour Charlotte (

Mena Suvari Mena Alexandra Suvari (; born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. The accolades she has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for a Primetime ...

). Haunted by visions of his dead wife, Ben starts to lose his grip on reality.

Cast

as Ben *

as Charlotte *

Naomie Harris Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is an English actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series '' Simon and the Witch'' in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film '' 28 Days Later'' (2 ...

as Elisa *

Sean Harris Sean Harris (born 1 June 1966) is an English actor. He played Ian Curtis in '' 24 Hour Party People'' (2002), Micheletto Corella in '' The Borgias'' (2011–2013), Fifield in ''Prometheus'' (2012), Solomon Lane in '' Mission: Impossible – R ...

as Roland *

Neil Edmond Neil Edmond (born December 1970) is a British actor and comedy writer. Neil was a member of the comedic sketch trio The Consultants, alongside James Rawlings and Justin Edwards. In 2002 they won the Perrier award for Best Newcomer at the E ...

as Mills *

Tommy Flanagan Thomas or Tom Flanagan may refer to: * Thomas Flanagan (bishop) (1930–2019), American Roman Catholic bishop * Thomas Flanagan (Irish politician) (died 1980), Irish civil engineer and politician * Thomas Flanagan (priest) (1814–1865), English Ro ...

as Tommy *

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a British film, television, radio and stage actor. His most notable screen roles were in '' Oliver!'' (1968), '' Up Pompeii'' (1971), '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988), '' Chocolat'' (1988), '' Layer ...

as Detective Constable Jackson *

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

as Petra *

Jo Maxwell-Muller Josephine Ann Maxwell-Muller (July 1944–30 October 2010) (Mrs Jo Heaton) was a British actress. She was born in Hendon in London in 1944, the daughter of Flight Lieutenant (later Wing Commander) Leon Maxwell-Muller OBE, RAF (1913–1984) an ...

as Grief-stricken Woman

Critical reaction

The film is described by critics as a

in the same vein as

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...

,"Trauma" Review
, ''Tiscali'' '' Memento'',Rich Cline
"Trauma" Review
''Shadows on the Wall'' and ''

Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder () is a ladder or staircase leading to Heaven that was featured in a dream the Biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of the dream has been de ...

'';David Nusair
"Trauma" Review
''Reel Films Reviews'' however, most find that the film pales in comparison, with ''Eye Weekly'' calling it "just another pretentious Jacob's Ladder knockoff.Jason Anderson

, ''Eye Weekly''" The film has been described as stylish, with ''iofilm'' calling it "a triumph of style over content."Trauma" Review
, ''iofilm - film inside out''" ''Shadows on the Wall'' adds, "Evans fills the screen with... moody, atmospheric, and evocative visuals," and ''Filmcritic.com'' says the film has "''

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

''-inspired creepy imagery."Christopher Null
"Trauma" Review
, ''Filmcritic.com'' ''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."Neil Young

''Film Loungue''

'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"Scott Weinberg
"Trauma" Review
''efilmcirtic.com'' and ''iofilm'' says, "Firth puts in a sterling performance in the central role." ''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."

Film festivals

''Listed Chronologically'' *

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

Film Market *

Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

*Lund Fantastisk Film Festival *Athens Film Festival *Gérardmer Fantasticarts Film Festival *Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films *München Fantasy Filmfest

References

External links

''Trauma'' Official Site
* * {{Marc Evans BBC Film films 2004 films 2004 psychological thriller films British psychological thriller films Films directed by Marc Evans Films scored by Alex Heffes 2000s English-language films 2000s British films English-language thriller films Warner Bros. films