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Ellen Page, Ari Cohen, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Julian Richings, Max Turnbull ... see more see more... , Erin McMurtry , Slim Twig , Zie Souwand

A 15-year-old girl navigates a dangerous urban landscape in search of the brother whom she has hypnotized into believing he is a dog in director Bruce McDonald's pop-infused, 21st century variation on... read more read more... The Catcher in the Rye. When the viewer first meets Tracey (Juno's Ellen Page), she is sitting naked in the back of a bus with only a flimsy shower curtain to guard her from the elements. Tracey is the broken product of an unstable home; her father (Ari Cohen) regards his children as "accidents," and her catatonic mother (Erin McMurtry) only pauses from watching television long enough to light up another cigarette. Upon discovering that a botched hypnosis experiment between Tracey and her younger brother, Sonny, has left the young boy emotionally transformed into a canine, the decision is made to send Tracey to a psychiatrist. Tormented by her classmates and lost in fantasies about her boyfriend and rock & roll savior Billy Zero (Slim Twig), the emotionally complex young woman has become enamored with a new student at school who doesn't even realize she exists. Later, when Sonny disappears, Tracey takes it upon herself to locate her missing sibling and make sure that he finds his way back home. While at first it appears that benevolent rent boy Lance (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos) may be her guiding light through the darkened city streets, Tracey quickly learns that to trust is to place your life in the hands of someone who may sell you out at a moment's notice. Now naked and desperate in the middle of a labyrinthine metropolitan nightmare, Tracey makes it her mission to find Sonny no matter how harrowing her quest may become. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

55% liked it

5,361 ratings

Critics

33% liked it

33 critics

R, 1 hr. 17 min.

Directed by: Bruce McDonald

Release Date: May 9, 2008

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DVD Release Date: July 8, 2008

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Stats: 1,132 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,132)

  • 5oclockcoffee
    May 11, 2012
    5oclockcoffee
    "Run Lola Run" is the firt movie that came to my mind. "Paranoid Park" somehow too.

    The movie runs exactly as our mind: a constant in and out of thoughts, fellings, memories and made up facts. Fragments that are part of many stories and end up in a single one. Messy. If there i... read mores a truth, itīs hidden somewhere.

    If you canīt follow Traceyīs mind (it can be tiresome sometimes), an unplugged version can eb found on youtube. Itīs also interesting , but not the same type of amazed confusing "experience" the film itself can offer.
  • dreamfaeries
    July 12, 2010
    dreamfaeries
    Hmmm... it was hard to watch with all the PIP boxes everywhere. Might have been really good aside from that. Page was very deep and amazing in her role though.
  • cosmo313
    September 28, 2009
    cosmo313
    "fragments" is definitely the key word with this movie, describing both the presentation of things, the mindset of the titular character, and how I (and I'm sure many others no doubt) feel about this movie. The Tracey Fragments is more like an exercise in editing or an experience... read more than a movie. The tone, mood, and atmosphere that are created are a huge part of things, and I really liked them. The artsy style and editing add to these things, but they end up taking over, and become a big distraction. Toning down the split screen stuff would have made for less tediousness, unless that was part of the filmmaker's point. The performances are good, and the music is nice, and I have to give some props for creativity and ambition, but this movie was a little too out there. I'm not sure of it's exact place, but this film ranks pretty high on my list of the most out there, off-the-wall, and mind-boggling films I've ever seen, which isn't necessarily a good thing or a bad one. There's nothing wrong with style and experimentation, which is why this film isn't getting a lower grade, but the over usage of said things is what keeps it from getting anything higher.
  • LWOODS04
    September 9, 2009
    LWOODS04
    What a hot mess this movie was. I was only wanting to see it because it had Ellen Page in it. I am glad I watched it for that fact, because I still think her acting was great. But the movie itself was unwatchable. The split screens, then jumping from one scene to another, never r... read moreeally fully grasping the concept of what was going on. It leaves you not knowing exactly what happened. Watch it for Ellen Page's performance if you are a fan, but besides that, no way would I recommend this movie to anyone.
  • Redlats
    June 14, 2009
    Redlats
    This is the last time I watch a film with the word 'fragments' in the title. There are actually two things that frustrate me about this film. I guess I am not avant garde enough to enjoy the fragments of film we see and then there is the fact that this is a story of the underbe... read morelly of city society - dysfunctional families, bullying, etc. I guess I prefer my movies to be rose-coloured.
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 18, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Not so much a film as an exercise in editing. It's got style and a distinct look but it's all too much. The film is essentially a recounting of events/memories, so the editing does work in context. It captures the frantic and fragmented nature of memories and thoughts. Sometimes ... read morethe editing can even give it a certain beat, one part has scenes appear and fade to coincide with breathing. It's a great visual trick. The script and the character of Tracey is another story. She is just spouting some thoughtless crap thinking she is profound. It gets tiring and when coupled with the editing, it's just one big distraction. I'm also still on the fence about Page's acting abilities. She's always playing characters that act mature, as opposed to simply mature young people. A nice try at something different, but it's hardly a film.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    August 5, 2008
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    In the end, I almost liked THE TRACY FRAGMENTS for its original, whacked-out nature, but it's not so much a film as it is an hour and twenty minutes of the filmmakers boasting "Look what WE can do in an editing suite...aren't we cool!" It's an artistic mess that almost won me ove... read morer; almost.
  • romy861
    July 29, 2008
    romy861
    This was a great movie - more like a piece of art than an actual film, shot in split screens and slightly out of sequence. It fascinated me all the way through, although I still couldn't say for certain exactly what was going on all the way through it and how much of it was in T... read moreracey's imagination. Ellen Page, as ever, is excellent playing a socially stunted 15 year old with family issues. Highly recommended if you like something a bit different.
  • aliceinpunderland
    July 17, 2008
    aliceinpunderland
    Indie flick hopped up on its own cleverness. Yes the screen is fragmented to reflect the fragments of Tracey's life. I get it. Ellen Page does some good manic acting, but she uses 3 different voices in the monologues (including the lackadaisical "Juno voice") and I wish she'd ... read morecommit to one character tone instead of using her entire vocal range.
  • Camus123
    July 17, 2008
    Camus123
    This is a very daring film.
    It is edited and shot in a way that may leave the viewer quite disoriented. That though is part of its magic.
    Short bursts of emotion and pathos bombard the senses in a manner completely deliberate so as to take you where our 'protagonist' is.
    She ... read moreis lost.
    Meet Tracey who is trying to make sense of life when all life seems to give to her is pain.
    She doesn't perceive it that way though.
    Defense mechanisms are a wonderful thing. We have them for a reason. To keep us from ourselves when we need to feel less.
    Tracey finds solace in her delusions as she hunts for her brother who has been hypnotized to think he is a dog.
    It sounds ridiculous, but it isn't.
    This movie is full of angst and steps so far out on a limb that it threatens to drop off at every turn, but holds on so that if you make it past the first excruciatingly difficult minutes it takes to break through the unique manner by which the story is being told you will be bound to see it through to the end (try dramamine if need be).
    Do I even have to say how brilliant Ellen Page was in this?
    Watch this when you feel up to being hypnotized yourself, but don't even look for the conventional and don't look for the editing technique to end...it doesn't and if it did the story just would not come across the same.
    It is as it is for a reason and not a gimmick.
    In a very short period of time (77 minutes) this movie captures something amazing and brings it to you dissected for you to put it back together again.
    In 'fragments' as it were.

View All The Tracey Fragments Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper
May 19, 2008
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

I hated this movie. I really did.

Rex Reed
May 14, 2008
Rex Reed, New York Observer

This audacious puzzlement is worth seeing, I guess, for some startling and innovative visual designs. But it doesn't amount to anything more substantial than a technical tour de force. Full Review

A.O. Scott
May 9, 2008
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Viewed as the sum of its sad incidents, The Tracey Fragments seems like the kind of adolescent melodrama that has become a staple of young-adult literature. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
May 9, 2008
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

I have a feeling that this is the last time we'll see a down-and-dirty Ellen Page. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
May 9, 2008
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

The Tracey Fragments is a grating stunt that plays like a film-school project, cutting a bland story into a million tiny irritating pieces. Full Review

Peter Rainer
May 9, 2008
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

This angsty Canadian movie directed by Bruce McDonald takes its title all too literally: Every sequence is splintered into multiple split screens, which means that you can follow the dreary, semi-inco... Full Review

Aaron Hillis
May 7, 2008
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice

Unlike the frustrating gimmickry of Mike Figgis's Timecode and Hotel, McDonald's bedazzling multi-frame experiment poeticizes and enhances an otherwise slender story (forgivable at only 77 minutes lon... Full Review

Andrew Sarris
May 7, 2008
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Ellen Page remains one of the few stellar newcomers who deserves to be seen in anything she chooses to do. Full Review

Peter Howell
November 2, 2007
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

This is a tough watch, but a rewarding one for those open to experimentation. Full Review

Liam Lacey
November 2, 2007
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

By the time The Tracey Fragments fills in its last dark fragments, they don't have the emotional impact they probably should have. Full Review

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  • Ellen Page movie quotes- guess which film this comes from: "I kinda like to ride a different bus every night depending on my mood. Like, if I'm depressed, I enjoy being around other depressed people. And happy people, they frickin' depress me! You know?"  Answer »
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