Review of The Tracey Fragments (2007) by Joe H — 07 Aug 2008

This is a mess of a film. It is a good film, but it could have been more. I really feel somewhere in all of this lies a brilliant film. That just isn't the one that was made. Ellen Page, yet again, gives a fantastic performance in this film.

She is well on her way to becoming the best actress in hollywood, and hopefully will be ready to take the crown whenever Cate Blanchett decides to give it up (which hopefully will not be anytime soon).

The visual style of the film is 24-esque, but still unique and engaging. I guess where I have problems with the film is in the way it tells the story. The story itself is very compelling, but the film just won't allow us to really know what it is.

I love movies that time jump to keep you off balance. A good example of this is '21 Grams' a movie I absolutely love. But the way this movie uses the gimmick, it just confuses you more and more instead of slowly progressing your understanding of the events happening.

When the movie actually calms down for the last 20 or so minutes and tells a pretty linear story, it is very compelling and effective. If only they could have found a way to make the rest of the film as compelling.

This is a very frustrating, failed attempt at brilliance. What we get is just a good movie that could have been great.