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THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS Send This Review to a Friend
They are indeed fragments. Diretctor Bruce McDonald, with a screenplay by Maureen Medved based on her novel, uses split screens in so many sliced up ways and constructs his film out of a multitude of bits and pieces. In the process he tells the story of 15-year-old Tracey Berkowitz, a tale of abuse, anger, rebellion and pain, and the frantic search for her disappeared little brother. Much of this emanates from the mind of the protagonist, with film footage illustrating the details,
This is a serious attempt to break ground in story telling, and while the disjointed approach can drive one crazy, the major element the film has going for it is Ellen Page as Tracey. The camera dotes on her. Ellen has an expressive face and a wider range than we saw in “Juno.” She is a fascinating young actress and it will be interesting to see how far she goes in the years ahead.
Were it not for wanting to watch Page, I would have preferred to tune out of this bold but basically annoyingly frantic way of telling a story. Near the end McDonald slows down his style and we get a welcome chance to concentrate more on Page’s face. Of course, much of what we read into her expression stems from what has gone before. But there’s no denying that this young actress is special and she is to be commended for taking part in McDoanld’s experimental approach. It can only enhance her reputation. A THINKFilm release.
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