This is barely a movie. It's more like a film making experiment or an exercise in editing. Maybe the director was trying to get a job working for "24". It's an impressive job of editing but ultimately it's not a very good movie. Ellen Page does a pretty good job with the material but she can't save the weirdness. The story isn't very good but it wasn't exactly terrible. The main reason that this film fails is that it is painful to watch. The editing, while nice, makes it nearly unwatchable.

"Director Bruce McDonald splits his screen eight ways to Sunday in The Tracey Fragments, a splintered form ostensibly intended to match the psyche of his protagonist." - Nick Schager

Loved it's torturous style, it's dark shady fragmented edge. A reminder that life can be confusing, tragic and unfair. A strongly convincing portrait of a broken slightly insane young girl, tormented by forces outside of her control as well as her own mistakes. that only an actress like Ellen Page could portray. Most uncomfortable experience ever watching a movie, which is what makes it so effective.

Somebody likes the PiP option in Power Director. But seriously; some people are being way too hard on this. Obviously the fragmented images are experimental and usually work (although sometimes it's a burden), Page gives a great performance, it has good music and it's pretty dark. Script could have used some work but I wasn't disappointed by this movie.

It only takes a few minutes to get used to the very unique way this picture is presented. This film is very original and Ellen Paige is fantastic in the lead role.

This isn't a film for the general audience, I can admit that easily. The non-linear storytelling, as well as the split-screen technique, can be quite off-putting and hard to follow. That's the intention though; you are supposed to be confused, just like Tracey. Ellen Page is wonderful, and the character of Tracey is one you will care about, like it or not. You might not end up liking it, but it's a film you won't see anything like any time soon, and is worth watching just for that experience.

I thought I was going to get frustrated with the chaotic visual style after a few minutes, but quickly got used to it. The editors on this film deserve a medal. The split-screens and the non-linear narrative do a good job of reflecting the fragmented, troubled mind of a young girl in turmoil. Ellen Page does a good job, too, and it was hard not to feel sympathy towards her by the end of the film. It does have a few flaws (there are some holes in the story), but I quite liked it.

I actually found this movie to be pretty affecting. Some dark material here.

#820 - 18 Agustos 08, 23:03. & sinemada yenilige her zaman taraftarimdir. bu filmde elinden geldigince yenilikci bir tarz ile bir hikayeyi ozgun anlatmaya calismis. bir sure sonra baslarda rahatsiz eden kurgu sizi rahatsiz etmiyor, filmin bir ogesi oluveriyor. ellen page cok ii bir oyuncu oldugunu tekrar tekrar kanitlamakta...

A miserable abortion of a film. Ellen Page is once again terrible and I am officially done watching movies with her in it. The dialog is so bad that you will laugh and say "what the fuck?" multiple times. So corny and stupid that it was physically painful.

Multi-framing can quickly become chaotic and meaningless. The director avoids this however, and so the movie does not end up as another indie-pretentious-but-hollow flick.

A unique and memorable film, with a one-of-a-kind structure that is much more than a gimmick. Ellen Page is better here than in Juno

A miserable film. Hectic and corny.

Part indie drama, part intriguing art film, it's too uneven to recommend without reservation, but the moments where things come together well--the radical visual style, the great score by Broken Social Scene, Ellen Page's performance--those moments are too unique to miss.

Attempting to be profound, the film seems to come off as trying too hard. Ellen Page is again the troubled, eerily mature youngster, but without the quirky spunk of Juno, or twisted vigilantism of Hard Candy. The film feels drawn out, and is something of a chore to get through, which would be acceptable if it did not have such a non-ending. Unique, interesting, thought provoking, but ultimately unsatisfying.

Nearly the entire film is presented as a jumbled composite shot, multiple images competing for attention and, ostensibly, reflecting the conflicted nature of the title character. Unfortunately, the film is all experiment with no purpose. The relentless technique gives no enhancement to the story or the impact of the piece. Page plays the title character with her customary commitment. She may not get past the limitations of what she was given on the page, but she certainly gives it her all.

Took a while to get used to the chaotic screen, it being split up to show the same instances of what was going on, but after that, it became more about the film. I will admit, however, Ellen Page playing the same character, or a variation of the same character in every one of the films I've seen of hers is getting a little tiresome.

Exhausting to watch, doesn't reward the viewer and Ellen Page is an annoying little brat (on purpose or not). Nice attempt at a distinct visual style, but doesn't work.

-.-

All I have to say is WHAT?

A story of 15 year old Tracey Berkowitz in search for her younger brother, told using a multi-frame composition. The number of frames, as their position, size and content changes throughout the film - sometimes they are exact copies, sometimes they show completely different scenes, or the same scene from different angles, sometimes it's the same scene.