Introduction

The Trench is a 1999 independent 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.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Outline

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 is 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.

Trivia

• Film debut of Ben Whishaw.
• In preparation for the film, Writer and Director William Boyd sent the main cast to a replica trench for a night, to experience the conditions the British Army suffered.
• William Boyd has strong family connections to World War I. His great uncle was wounded in the Somme, as was his grandfather at Paschendale.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): William Boyd.
• Producer(s): Steve Clark-Hall, Mairi Bett, and Xavier Marchand.
• Writer(s): William Boyd.
• Music: Evelyn Glennie and Greg Malcangi.
• Cinematography: Tony Pierce-Roberts.
• Editor(s): Jim Clark and Laurence Mery-Clark.
• Production: Arts Council of England, Blue PM, Bonaparte Films, British Screen Productions (as British Screen), Canal+ (uncredited), Galatée Films, Portman Entertainment Group (as Portman Entertainment), and Skyline Films.
• Distributor(s): Arts Council of England.
• Release Date: 17 September 1999.
• Running Time: 98 minutes.
• Country: UK and France.
• Language: English.