Review first draft - Laura

This is the first draft of our review...There are still some things we need to work out, for example, there are structural points that we need to rearrange. But we are very excited about finishing it!

Trapped James Dunham and Laura Geall make their directorial debut in this gripping representation of domestic abuse. With the main star, Sam (Mark Summers, Uncovered); playing a character that is being physically abused, the audience are reminded that what appears on the outside is not always the truth.

We see a character that represents that of a stereotypical teenage boy, “going out on the pull” with his friends, criticising his “clingy” girlfriend. However, as the college day ends, we enter a world that is far from stereotypical. Sam takes us through his relationship with Amy (Megan Trigg) through a series of flashbacks. As his memories progress we are made witness to the subtly-growing violence. However, James and Laura have breached societal expectations and twisted reality by having the female as the abuser. But is it really twisting reality? This makes the audience aware as to how ignorant we are in society, about situations of domestic abuse where men are the victims.

In the first flashback the audience are made to believe that Amy is to Sam, as Lady is to Tramp. However, this moment of intertextuality is there to signify more than just romance, but to heighten the way we later find out Sam is being abused. By comparing their relationship to this oh-so-sweet Disney classic, Amy’s possessive nature is heightened; reflecting the way Sam is stifled in this relationship.

Amy’s psychotic and possessive tendencies are triggered by Laura (Laura Geall, Snapshot), Sam’s “friend from college”. We see this in the third flashback, when a cleverly edited transition reveals Amy and Sam’s confrontation after meeting Laura. The moments of violence throughout the film are only shown to us subtly, reminding the audience of the ever-present theme that things are not always as they appear. Even in the final confrontation, James and Laura rely only on the diegetic sound of Sam’s reaction. Hearing his pain is more chilling than seeing it; a cold reminder to the audience that abuse is not always visual.

The audience roots for Sam when they realise what he is going through. We hope for him to find a way out of this relationship that he is isolated in; being truly representative of its title: Trapped. Even by the end we see there is no escape for him, as Laura and James reveal the most severe consequences of domestic abuse. 

At the end, the audience are left judging themselves for criticising Sam, and contemplating whether relationships are really as they appear. Not just because of Megan’s excellent portrayal of such a cold-hearted character, but also because of the truth of this social realist film. The audience are left with a truly chilling feeling.