The Trench (film)


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.
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, 17, along with his older brother, Eddie, has volunteered for service. The whole platoon, all in their late teens, depend on the war-hardened Sergeant Winter and the scholarly Lieutenant Hart 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