Trauma (2004 film)

2004 British film by Marc Evans

Trauma

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Marc Evans
Written by| Richard Smith
Produced by| Nicky Kentish Barnes
Jonathan Cavendish
Starring| Colin Firth
Mena Suvari
Naomie Harris
Sean Harris
Neil Edmond
Cinematography| John Mathieson
Nic Sadler
Edited by| Mags Arnold
Music by| Alex Heffes

Production
companies

BBC Films
Isle of Man Film
Little Bird Productions

Distributed by| Warner Bros. Pictures

Release date

* 17 September 2004 (2004-09-17)

Running time

| 94 minutes[1]
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

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

## Plot

[edit]

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

## Cast

[edit]

* Colin Firth as Ben
* Mena Suvari as Charlotte
* Naomie Harris as Elisa
* Sean Harris as Roland
* Neil Edmond as Mills
* Tommy Flanagan as Tommy
* Kenneth Cranham as Detective Constable Jackson
* Brenda Fricker as Petra
* Jo Maxwell-Muller as Grief-stricken Woman

## Critical reaction

[edit]

The film is described by critics as a psychological thriller in the same vein as David Cronenberg,[2] Memento,[3] and Jacob's Ladder;[4] however, most find that the film pales in comparison, with Eye Weekly calling it "just another pretentious Jacob's Ladder knockoff.[5]" The film has been described as stylish, with iofilm calling it "a triumph of style over content.[6]" Shadows on the Wall adds, "Evans fills the screen with... moody, atmospheric, and evocative visuals,[3]" and Filmcritic.com says the film has "The Ring-inspired creepy imagery."[7]

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."[8]

Colin Firth's performance is the most praised aspect of the film. "He delivers a performance which highlights the range of his considerable talent"[2] cites one critic. eFilmCritic says Firth "does the best with what he's given"[9] and iofilm says, "Firth puts in a sterling performance in the central role."[6] 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."[4]

### Film festivals

[edit]

Listed Chronologically

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Trauma (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
2. ^ a b "Trauma" Review Archived 15 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Tiscali
3. ^ a b Rich Cline, "Trauma" Review, Shadows on the Wall
4. ^ a b David Nusair, "Trauma" Review, Reel Films Reviews
5. ^ Jason Anderson, "Trauma" Review Archived 18 September 2004 at the Wayback Machine, Eye Weekly
6. ^ a b "Trauma" Review Archived 25 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine, iofilm - film inside out
7. ^ Christopher Null, "Trauma" Review Archived 27 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine, Filmcritic.com
8. ^ Neil Young, "Trauma" Review, Film Loungue
9. ^ Scott Weinberg, "Trauma" Review, efilmcirtic.com

## External links

[edit]

* Trauma Official Site
* Trauma at IMDb
* Trauma at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Works directed by Marc Evans

Feature films|

* House of America (1996)
* Resurrection Man (1997)
* My Little Eye (2002)
* Trauma (2004)
* Snow Cake (2006)
* Patagonia (2010)
* Hunky Dory (2011)
* Cassy and Jude (2015)
* Mr Burton (2025)

Television films|

* Thicker than Water (1993)
* Bliss (1995)
* Doors Open (2012)

Television miniseries|

* Collision (2009)
* The Pembrokeshire Murders (2021)
* Steeltown Murders (2023)

Documentaries|

* Beautiful Mistake (2000)
* Dal: Yma/Nawr (2003)
* In Prison My Whole Life (2007)
* Jack to a King (2014)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template