Trauma (2004)

Perfect cast and a good story

Captivating movie !

Best movie of this year hands down!

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Ben (Colin Firth) is in a coma at a London hospital. He wakes to find that his wife has died in the same horrific accident that injured Ben. Not only that, the funeral is long over and there is only a video of the proceedings. Needing to change his life completely, Ben finds an apartment in a former hospital undergoing renovations. In the basement, there is an empty morgue, where patients who died were kept until arrangements were made. Ick. Overseeing some of the remodeling is Ben's neighbor, Charlotte (Mena Suvari). She is young and beautiful, a good distraction for Ben. But, something is amiss. For one, Ben thinks he spies his ex-wife, Elisa (Naomie Harris) on the street, more than once. Well, well. Also, a detective comes to see Ben, telling the widower he is a possible suspect in the murder of a singer. Well, well, again. Ben is also seeing a psychiatrist, hoping to work his way through his grief. But, is Ben a murderer, going crazy or what? This is quite a good thriller, not especially bloody, but more of mental horror show. Firth is terrific as the conflicted, complex Ben, while Suvari, Harris and all of the other cast members are great, too. The old hospital setting, complete with plastic, remodeling curtains that sway and the basement morgue, is absolutely creepy. Script and direction are appropriately full of twists and turns. However, the ending is a bit confusing, resulting in this viewer having to read others' plot summaries to fully understand its meaning. If you like thrillers and/or Firth, do add a little "Trauma" to your life soon.

Well, I have to say that this type of movie is not necessarily what I usually like in a "restful, relaxing entertainment value." My reason for watching this was to continue my study of Colin Firth's film career since I saw him in A&E's production of "Pride and Prejudice" recently.However . . . although I have found most of the other movies Firth have played in to be either vulgar, filthy, slapstick or just plain dull for so charming a man and talented an actor (with the exception of "What a Girl Wants"), I can see that in "Trauma" he was shining through as the fantastic, brilliant actor that he is.This type of movie and part that he played can be one of the most challenging for any actor. The actor, Firth, has to believe everything that is going on around him and happening to him for the viewer to find it believable.The character he plays, Ben, starts out in the viewers mind as a sympathetic yet clearly disturbed young man. You are wondering what he is living on and yet how he can afford visiting a psychotherapist so often. You are actually suffering with him in the beginning and furious with his wife's family for their cold behavior.Little by little, the movie tears away the shell until you are getting a more clear view of what is going on and who and what Ben really is. You are wondering what his obsession is with the death of the singer, and how he could be involved. You are also finding out more and more than Ben had been stalking and terrorizing his "dead" wife.When finally his ex-wife unexpectedly makes a return entrance, the viewers are left to wonder at their senses and reasoning. We, the viewers, have experienced every heart break and internal punishment from Ben's mind including some really disturbing dreams. We cannot believe that this woman really is still alive and doubt our own sanity as Ben does.It is not so surprising that when the beautiful next door neighbor Charlotte, played by Mena Suvari, makes a return visit, our character Ben has completely flipped his lid – disbelieving in his own sanity and her very existence. He becomes psychotic about proving to himself and destroying what, in his mind, is telling him that does not really exist – a beautiful woman who seems to truly care about his torment.Our last final hope for Ben dies with his actions against Charlotte, and then with the concluding psychotherapist visit, the viewer realizes he/she has been duped through the entire movie in believing in Ben when there IS no psychotherapist.This was a truly amazing feat for a movie and for an actor, and that really surprised me, considering that I got the secret behind "Sixth Sense" in the previews of that movie before it came out.A couple of points to mention is that I did not understand what happened to his ant farm he was so fascinated by, and frankly, if Charlotte was supposed to be involved with psychics, why didn't she sense that there was danger in Ben at that moment before following him downstairs to nibble on a spider.The "F" word again was unnecessary for emphasis in areas, and the grimy scenes of abandon London buildings and streets, added to the overall depressed feeling from the film. Overall, this can be considered one of Firth's best portrayals, even if not the lovable character we would like to see him in.

I knew not of this movie's existence until catching a viewing on the fantastic Independent Film Channel late one night. I was drawn into the story with wonderful acting by all that participated. The movie has a few twists & turns, but is easily followed. I felt empathy for the main character's apparent situation. Mena Suvari's performance was beautiful, & though I have watched her good performances in other films, this role could have been performed no better. She was perfect! I am now a Colin Firth fan as well. He too, was brilliant in his role. Unfortunately, this film is a little known treasure. Thank goodness for the Independent Film Channel for providing viewers an opportunity to see films that are not main stream commercial giants, but just as good, if not better. This movie did not rely on state of the art special effects. This film was driven by a good story, & great performances.

Ben wakes up from a week long coma resulting from a car wreck. He is then told that the crash took his wife and he falls he falls into a slump and becomes somewhat of a loner. Things get weird when Ben starts to have hallucinations and is suspected of a murder of a pop star - what's real? What's not?The film has an interesting premise in which a man's troubled mind starts to torment him and there are some decent scenes of hallucination and terror, but overall the film is very muddled. First of it is very very slow, almost to the point where it becomes uncomfortable. Second, there is no atmosphere that pervades the film, instead just individual creepy scenes that overall add up to much less than desired.The flip side to that is that the film doesn't overplay anything and the revelations of the truth seem to feel more human rather than shocking or mind-blowing. That might result in some viewers disappointment, but it is interesting to see a more down-to-earth psychological ending. Just too bad that it's muddled throughout. 5/10Rated R, inexplicably, for some startling scenes and restrained profanity