Traders

Traders (2015): Harry Fox (Killian Scott) and Vernon Stynes (John Bradley) are left penniless when their company goes under in the economic crash. Harry takes work as a minimum wage data-entry clerk, Vernon returns home to mum to work on a business plan. A colleague who can't take the stress drives his car into a tree so that his family will get the insurance money.

Vernon comes up with the idea of Trading: you fight to the death with each participant putting up an equal stake. You double your money each time and bury the body of your opponent, each having taken turns digging the grave beforehand. Literally survival of the fittest. Harry excels and racks up the kills and accumulates capital. Ken (Barry Keoghan), an eighteen year old combatant complicates the story as criminals attempt to move in on the business. Orla (Nika McGuigan) is Vernon's neighbour and unrequited love interest but now Harry gets involved. But nothing is ever quite straightforward in this quirky Irish thriller which is veined with very dark humour.

A macabre take on the aftermath of the Crash in Ireland, never before has Dublin looked so desolate nor have so many bleak burial sites been located. I a particular irony, abandoned building sites are the arenas for many of the combats and also supply the grave sites. Good acting all round particularly from Scott, Bradley and Keoghan. Co- Directed and written by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy this sharp thriller was under-appreciated on it's release. 8/10

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.

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.

Although the movie genre defined it as a thriller movie it failed to hold the thrill throughout the film.

John Bradley performed very neatly though Killian Scott's acting was offbeat. he was one of the major character in the movie so when his expressions and dialogue delivery was sloppy it took away the gravity of that particular scene.

About the script, it was well written with a new concept of trading. But in the climax scene was not well thought because that scene lacks logic and does not coincide with the previous scenes which were shown and the conversations took place on that time. So the climax scene is a major letdown.

Another thing about the script is there was no twist or turns, entire movie was like a straight arrow; it was quite predictable. There was no thrill of what might happen next so I could not enjoy the movie that much.

The movie had great potential but all in all not worth your time. Not recommended.

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.