Trauma (2004 film)

2004 British film by Marc Evans

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

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.

The film is described by critics as a psychological thriller in the same vein as David Cronenberg, Memento, and Jacob's Ladder; however, most find that the film pales in comparison, with Eye Weekly calling it "just another pretentious Jacob's Ladder knockoff." The film has been described as stylish, with iofilm calling it "a triumph of style over content." Shadows on the Wall adds, "Evans fills the screen with moody, atmospheric, and evocative visuals,

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." Colin Firth's performance is the most praised aspect of the film. "He delivers a performance which highlights the range of his considerable talent" 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."