Traders

I was pleasantly surprised by this film, which is if you want a plot summary for i'm sure you can just go to IMDb or Wikipedia. I checked it out because I saw John Bradley was in it and i'm a big GOT fan. Alas in this film Bradley plays Vernon, an out of work want to be entrepreneur who concocts the idea of "trading" in which two people put all of their net worth into a bag, and challenge each other to a fight to the death in which the winner nets both bags. Vernon is very Samwell Tarylish in his neurotic-ness and the lead character, Harry, played by Killian Scott acted out his character arc brilliantly as out of work and hopeless man in the beginning to wealthy terminator by the films end. As the movie ran shortly under 90 minutes it felt like a long episode of an anthology series as opposed to an actual film, but nevertheless it was quite enjoyable and I suggest giving it a look.

There is something unique and special about English revenge, bloody gangster, colorful evil people films. "Snatch" and "Shallow Grave" of course tops them all. I really liked this one, and even though it's barely in the ballpark of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or even "Layer Cake," I found no problem watching it all the way through. The acting is nothing short of superb, and the character development at times masterful. Really enjoyed and highly recommend this one.

I only got interested in this movie because I like the actor John Bradley who plays Samwell Tarly in "Game of Thrones". The movie has an intriguing thriller premise that can't help but make one want to see how it continues when one has begun. "Ordinary" people and small business people who lost their jobs after inflation and find their existence in a bit of a pickle, participate in a "trading" scheme where they bet all their money in very straightforward, undramatic duels for their lives at remote spots where each time they dig one grave in advance.

The tone is relatively realistic as one would expect from the milieu of small-town business men, so that one could almost expect it to be a normal "drama" plot surrounding office workers, with John Bradley's Vernon Stynes - who came up with the scheme and its rules and put it up on the Dark Web - at first almost seeming like he could drop in at The Office for a moment. As one can realize afterwards, this is part of the characterization, with subtle hints about psychopathy (with not at all subtle consequences) and the stereotype about business men and psychopathy (mentioned casually). After all, the title itself is an euphemism, and the tale is clearly a parable about market crashes.

The narrative is relatively straightforward and never goes beyond this "realistic" tone, though it is relatively entertaining and intriguing. However there are some issues with the narrative, which are not altogether hard to guess at. It is not believable that people would see this trade as a good deal, and have as little hesitation and fear - even doubt - as displayed. The main characters undergo some development in that regard at first, especially the protagonist and narrator Harry Fox, who later becomes really good at it (whereas John Bradley as Vernon Stynes is predictably weaker and for most of the movie bedridden after their first half-canceled attempt), however the topic of fear and hesitation is discarded pretty quickly.

Once the trading scheme gets going pretty well, there is only one time when a character starts having fear, which is overcome by desperation. And while there is a rule that a participant has to write a suicide letter to avert basic suspicion, it is implausible that the police wouldn't become suspicious after a while (especially since all the people simply go missing, and the letters are probably bullshit) or that it wouldn't become aware of the existence of the scheme in the Dark Web or that word wouldn't trickle out.

Due to psychological themes playing such a small role, and the story being as straightforward as it is, without social, psychological, investigative plausibility providing some complication, it remains as a "small" though relatively entertaining movie. I might give it 6.5 points, but round down rather than up due to its off-putting nature.

I had low expectations based on this film's rating and synopsis but was pleasantly surprised. The plot sounded too dark, impersonal, and unrealistic to be any better than your everyday shock-value indie horror film. However, the idea of ordinary people voluntarily meeting up via the dark web to fight to the death in hopes of doubling their life's savings was just too enticing. The narrator and main character Kevin Fox played by Killian Scott (who I've never seen before) really pulls you in by somehow making the whole world of p2p mutual combatants seem feasible among those who are in financial despair. Then, he takes you along for the downward spiral that ensues when such a world becomes difficult to leave behind. Some of the lines in his narration are so well-written, ironic, and humorously delivered that they alone make the movie worth watching. I hope to see more of that lad!

The film also has a way of warming you up before things turn too sinister. Once the ball gets rolling, the writers manage to mix in comedic relief without being campy. There is also good character development which sets it apart from other movies with similar themes. This is despite your initial rejection of John Bradley (Sam from Game of Thrones) for Vernon Stynes as being the pioneer of said "trading" website. Sit tight, because you will come to find Bradley is the perfect cast for reasons I can't disclose without any spoilers. It isn't receiving 9 from me only because most of the rest of the cast just lacked the blockbuster talent required for it. But a 6.1 certainly just doesn't do "Traders" justice.

Darkly comic but leaning more towards dark. I was impressed with the script and the acting here. This was a notch above the average B Horror Fare. I feel sufficiently genre-versed to make that call.