The Trench (1999)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

William Boyd

Writer:

William Boyd (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

It is a place 8ft wide, 600 miles long, man-made and God-forsaken.

Plot Keywords:

WWI | Battle Of The Somme | Trench Warfare | Soldier | Independent Film

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Paul Nicholls	...	Pte. Billy Macfarlane
Daniel Craig	...	Sgt. Telford Winter
Julian Rhind-Tutt	...	2nd Lt. Ellis Harte
Danny Dyer	...	Lance Cpl. Victor Dell
James D'Arcy	...	Pte. Colin Daventry
Tam Williams	...	Pte. Eddie Macfarlane
Anthony Strachan	...	Pte. Horace Beckwith
Michael Moreland	...	Pte. George Hogg
Adrian Lukis	...	Lt. Col. Villiers
Ciarán McMenamin	...	Pte. Charlie Ambrose
Cillian Murphy	...	Rag Rookwood
John Higgins	...	Pte. Cornwallis
Ben Whishaw	...	Pte. James Deamis
Tim Murphy	...	Pte. Bone
Danny Nutt	...	Pte. Dieter Zimmermann

Also Known As:

La tranchée (France)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | France:U | Ireland:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bray Film Studios, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Trivia:

In preparation for the film, the director sent to main cast to a replica trench for a night to experience the conditions the British army suffered.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Eddie looks out the loophole, no mans land is a clear green field. When the Winter and Beckwith do the raid, Beckwith claims there is a a ton of wire left. During the final attack, there is no wire. Also, due to the weeks of bombing it is likely that the ground would be a bit rough and muddy.

Quality performances make a simple film powerfully effective

Who would choose to make their debut a WWI character piece set within the confines of one trench? For his first directorial effort William Boyd has not tried to run before he can walk, and Paul Nicholls in his first released feature plays a role he clearly empathises with.

The relative inexperience of Boyd is evident in the modesty of the production - no expensive effects, no epic locations - but that actually works well in this study of young men trying to cope with the unthinkable horror that characterised the World War One battlefield.

Cooped up for days in dreadful conditions, the various characters - the naive (Nicholls), the intellectual (D'Arcy), the objectionable (Dyer), the loveable fattie (Strachan) - at turns argue with and provide support for each other, but at the end of the day have to face almost certain death on their own and in their own way.

This is not a great film, it doesn't quite provide a strong enough focus to help you empathise with the characters, for the most part it feels like a filmed play, but as a film it is able to provide moments of real visual power such as the final scenes as the boys finally leave the trenches to face the German guns.

For those last few minutes, the realisation of what they are about to do hits you hard, you can really sense the terror that they must have felt.

Despite it's "theatrical" feel at times, and the constraints of its setting, this is a fine and evocative film, with an excellent cast. Paul Nicholls, Danny Dyer and James D'Arcy are not alone in giving faultless performances, but the star of the film must be Daniel Craig, who is superb as Sgt Winter, a man who has survived the battlefield once, but knows his luck is about to run out.