The Trench

The Trench follows a company of young British soldiers in the summer of 1916, in the days before the Battle of the Somme. Among them is seventeen-year-old Billy Macfarlane, who enlisted as a volunteer alongside his brother Eddie and their friend Rag. Confined to a frontline trench, the men pass the waiting hours in boredom, fear and mounting unease, their romantic ideas about the war steadily giving way to the reality of what awaits them. Their survival rests largely with Sergeant Telford Winter, a seasoned soldier, and with the inexperienced Lieutenant Ellis Harte, whose judgment the men have reason to doubt. When the order to attack finally comes, it applies to all of them equally.

The film was directed and written by William Boyd, produced by Steve Clark-Hall, and made as a British and French co-production. Its cast includes Daniel Craig as Sergeant Winter, Paul Nicholls as Billy, Danny Dyer, James D'Arcy, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Ciarán McMenamin.

Released in September 1999, it runs 98 minutes. On IMDb it holds 5.9/10 from around 4,800 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 5.3/10 from roughly 112 votes, a small sample that offers a narrower view of audience opinion than the larger IMDb figure.