Trapped
Trapped
| 10 October 2008 (USA)
Trapped Trailers

When Anton O'Neill returns home after five years at sea, he finds that 1970's Ireland is a radically different place to the one he left behind. Northern Ireland is in flames, and civil unrest has spilled south of the border to his beloved home in County Cavan. Blinded by hatred and misguided patriotism 'Anton' is led into an illicit world of violence and is forced to choose between his family and his country. Hunted and on the run, Anton is drawn into a battle of wills with the law and his former accomplices, ending in a showdown in which he must risk everything to protect the woman he loves.

Reviews
martinwyer

This movie is inept on so many levels I don't know where to start.First of all, I appreciate it's an independent release and must have required some effort to get it funded and shot etc. but that's about the only kind thing I could say.Ordinarily if an Independent movie is poor there's at least something to hook you in, or the embryo of a good idea in there somewhere, something that leaves the viewer at least saying that it had potential but not here.The movie is not that long, around 90 minutes but by the end you'll feel like you've spent an eternity in purgatory. The story is muddled, confusing and meanders from one location to the next. Acting is atrocious, how Gerard McSorely got roped into this will go down as one of the great mysteries of our time. The worst crime of all though is that at no point did I care about any of the characters involved.I'm an Irish citizen, and the troubles as they were referred to here should provide plenty of inspiration to would be film makers who surely could be able to come up with something a little more exciting than this?

... View More
mvpictures-2

When you set out to make an Independent film you do so with the intention of doing the best job you can with the resources available to you. When there is no definitive budget, (by that I mean, when you're not financed) it means there is no definitive time-line for completion. The majority of time is spent scraping together money piece-meal. You receive no income for your efforts and end up in crippling debt. So why do it? Well; A filmmaker makes films and that involves taking a leap of faith. Two years have passed since the completion of the film and with the forthcoming UK DVD release on October 11 (http://www.highfliersplc.com/product/284/) it's interesting to reflect on the expectations we had. The act of completion, finding an audience, and the subsequent sale of the film, (in over thirty territories to date) is all a filmmaker can ask. Ultimately what you're left with is the satisfaction of a successful outcome to your endeavours and the belief to take another leap of faith, coming to a cinema near you in the very near future?

... View More
jeff-wode

Wasn't expecting much from this, in light of the mixed reviews it received. I usually find that when some critics love a movie and some hate it, I usually end up hating it too. Not this time. For a start, it looks great. Best cinematography in an Irish film I've seen in years, more like David Fincher than anyone else. The plot / story is great too, keeps twisting and turning and the action never lets up. I thought the acting was top notch, especially the supporting roles. The brother, the wife and the little psycho IRA guy were all brilliant. I loved the score too. Only downside was that the time line jumped a little in the first twenty minutes and it was hard to follow what was happening when, but this didn't detract from the film at all. I can't see why some critics didn't like this film. I think a lot of Irish people are just have a blind spot for anything that relates to the troubles. Will probably do much better outside Ireland than it did here. I nearly didn't go to see this and I'm glad now that I got off my ass and made the effort. Well worth it.

... View More
Michael Travers

I gave Anton a 10 rating despite a couple of misgivings. The sheer ambition of this movie is inspirational! Ambition, something sadly lacking in Ireland, just look at RTE, TV3 and the morons who run the country. I can't recall an Irish film which dared to compete with Hollywood action thrillers, Recent Irish Films (A film with me in it, Middletown, Adam & Paul, 32a, Garage etc) have been slow paced and better suited for TV. Sorry about the rant! The recreation of the 70's period in this movie is flawless, the score, cinematography and most of the performances are incredible. On the downside, the filmmakers tried to cram so much in that the film losses focus at points. Gerard McSorley does his thing to great effect lending tremendous weight to the production, but it's the supporting performances that are surprisingly good. With Anton, Irish Film is getting on track, (not back on track, because it was never on track in my opinion) What Ireland needs is more people working in the film industry with balls and before you say, what about movies like, In the Name of the Father, The Boxer, Michael Collins, Veronica Guerin etc, yes they were good, great even, but these films were made by Hollywood studios so can't be considered true Irish Films.

... View More