The Trench (film)
The Trench is a 1999 British war film directed by William Boyd and starring Paul Nicholls and Daniel Craig. It depicts the experiences of a group of young British soldiers in the 48 hours leading up to the Battle of the Somme in 1916.[2]
| The Trench | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | William Boyd |
| Produced by | Steve Clark-Hall |
| Written by | William Boyd |
| Starring | Paul Nicholls Daniel Craig Julian Rhind-Tutt Danny Dyer James D'Arcy |
| Edited by | Jim Clark |
| Distributed by | Arts Council of England |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom France[1] |
| Language | English |
James D'Arcy, Cillian Murphy and Ben Whishaw also appear.
Synopsis
The film paints a picture of the soldiers' emotional experience in the confines of the trenches; an experience running the gamut from boredom to fear, panic to restlessness. Billy MacFarlane (Paul Nicholls), 17, along with his older brother, Eddie (Tam Williams), has volunteered for service. The whole platoon, all in their late teens, depend on the war-hardened Sergeant Winter (Daniel Craig) and the scholarly Lieutenant Hart (Julian Rhind-Tutt) for their survival. When word arrives that the platoon will join the first wave of attacks, they do not yet know they will be present when the British Army loses the greatest number of soldiers in a single day in its history.
Cast
- Paul Nicholls as Pte. Billy Macfarlane
- Daniel Craig as Sgt. Telford Winter: the platoon sergeant.
- Julian Rhind-Tutt as 2Lt. Ellis Hart: the platoon commander.
- Danny Dyer as LCpl. Victor Dell
- James D'Arcy as Pte. Colin Daventry: a British Soldier who starts worry that he won't survive the war.
- Tam Williams as Pte. Eddie Macfarlane: Billy's older brother who many believed pressured Billy into signing up.
- Anthony Strachan as Pte. Horace Beckwith: a fat Scottish soldier who is engaged to be married after the war. He's eager to kill German soldiers to avenge his friends that have died.
- Michael Moreland as Pte. George Hogg: a friend of Beckwith who becomes angry at him for keeping his engagement a secret from him.
- Adrian Lukis as Lt. Col. Villiers: the Battalion's Commanding Officer (CO).
- Ciarán McMenamin as Pte. Charlie Ambrose
- Cillian Murphy as Pte. Rag Rookwood
- John Higgins as Pte. Cornwallis
- Ben Whishaw as Pte. James Deamis
- Tim Murphy as Pte. Bone: Lt Hart's aide
- Danny Nutt as Pte. Dieter Zimmermann: a German soldier captured by Winter and Beckwith.