Synopsis
The Trench tells the story of a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916, the worst defeat in British military history. Against this ill-fated backdrop, the movie depicts the soldiers' experience as a mixture of boredom, fear, panic, and restlessness, confined to a trench on the front lines.
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Cast
- Daniel CraigSgt. Telford Winter
- Danny DyerLance Cpl. Victor Dell
- James D'ArcyPte. Colin Daventry
- Paul NichollsPte. Billy Macfarlane
- Julian Rhind-Tutt2nd Lt. Ellis Harte
- Ciarán McMenaminPte. Charlie Ambrose
- Cillian MurphyRag Rookwood
- Ben WhishawPte. James Deamis
- Adrian LukisLt. Col. Villiers
- Tam WilliamsPte. Eddie Macfarlane
Recommendations
- 70
TV Guide Magazine
A powerful anti-war film. - 70
Variety
Soberly and intelligently examines the fear, frustration, anxiety, animosity and boredom of waiting to advance into the terrifying other world that lies over the lip of the trenches. - 70
Village Voice
The acting, by a large cast of little-known young Brits chewing on South London accents like dog bones, is uniformly splendiferous. - 63
New York Daily News
By the time they're ready to leave their trench, we're not at all ready to see them go. - 60
Film.com
Boyd would be smart to add a little sound and fury next time around. War is hell, after all. - 60
The New York Times
What lifts The Trench above the run of the mill is the intensity of its disgust. - 50
Chicago Reader
Boyd brings no new insights to this drama of men in a confined space, a situation that's been the basis for many powerful war films. - 50
Christian Science Monitor
The acting is solid, but Tony Pierce-Roberts's unimaginative camera work falls short of his highest standard.
