Overrated

Absolutely brilliant

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Trapped AKA Anton (2008) was Graham Cantwell's first Directorial success as it was nominated for 3 IFTN's. A very brave subject matter (1972, beginning on the day after Bloody Sunday, and deals with the "Troubles") that was bound to be met with a lot of criticism (And did) , personally I liked it a lot. First off the Original Score is beautiful and the cinematography is sometimes bold which I love. What I appreciate about 'Trapped' is that it delves into the relationships surrounding Anton during this time. It has a somewhat problematic time frame but does ultimately explain the dilemma Anton is in- which solves that mystique. Local Gardai detective Lynch played by Gerard McSorley plays menacing at its best. One has to pay respect to the film makers as this was a very low budget film that did make it straight to DVD. It is political but it is also fresh in it's mini plots and angles.

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?

Whilst credit must go to the filmmakers for actually getting Anton produced, sadly they have not done themselves any real favours by putting this story up on the big screen.Whilst there are certainly moments in the film which work, overall it is simply a mess. Watching it, I wondered at times whether this was in fact an experimental avant-garde piece masquerading as a mainstream thriller. That seemed to be the only possible explanation for the missing plot points, lack of character motivation and general incoherence of the film. However, in truth, this is nothing more than a collection of scenes in search of a script review.To give an example: at a mid-point in the film Anton escapes from prison. In the next scene he enters what seems to be an abandoned warehouse and takes a gun from a toilet cistern before being confronted and chased by two police officers. We have never seen this location before. It is not explained why there is a gun in the cistern or how Anton knew it was there. We do not know how the police tracked him to this location. We are simply asked to accept that this is so and move on. Apparently the film is based on the writer's own experience, so perhaps he knows the answers to these questions, but a simple review by an experienced script editor would have pointed out that its quite important for the audience to know these things too.In short, there are suggestions that the filmmakers could do better work in the future, but as an overall piece of work this film is seriously flawed.

I saw this at The Boston Irish Film Festival 2008. It has merit on all fronts. Gee, How many American movies started with €5,000 euro pack this punch?! The acting is exemplary and the direction while safe delivers when its called for. Mc Sorely is incredible and Fox in his first Lead ( I think) in a movie holds his own very well against him. The character he plays is very hard to get to grips with in the early scenes but once the movie gathered pace one could understand his mindset. The supporting cast (again unknown) deliver truthful performances often missing from films of this caliber and budget. There are places where it's budget is telling but the ambition and the sheer scale for little money has to be commended. The audience in Harvard were well impressed. African American, Irish American, Hispanic American. Seriously it was amazing coming as I do from an English heritage to see this cross section engage with an Irish Film on so many levels. At first I was terrified this is yet another Brit bashing movie but was pleasantly surprised by how focused it was on the family and how the conflict in Northern Ireland was purely a background to what is a gritty truthful movie.