The Tracey Fragments (film)

McDonald's first choice was Ellen Page,[6] and he originally talked to her when she was 15, the same age as the character. Page had been recommended to him by Daniel MacIvor and Wiebke von Carolsfeld, the writer and director of the 2002 film in which Page stars, Marion Bridge. At the time, Page said she felt she wasn't quite ready to take on the part, which was described as "a gruelling portrait of a girl suffering from everything from psychiatric abuse to near rape". Her decision turned out well, as McDonald wasn't able to raise the financing until Page was a little more grown up.[5]

Principal photography began in early 2006 as an adaptation of the novel. Filming lasted 14 days over a period of four weeks in the spring of 2006, and took place in Toronto,[8] Brantford and the suburbs of Hamilton, Ontario. Cinematographer Steve Cosens shot the film on Panasonic DVX100 at 24p frame rate, with 35 mm film stock.[9] Post-production took almost nine months, along with three editors working on two Macs using Apple Final Cut Pro.[6] One particular bloom sequence used all 99 available tracks of Final Cut Pro, generating nearly 200 minutes of running footage inside two minutes of actual running time. Assistant editor Matt Hannam graduated to become the third member of the editing team while working on particularly complex multi-frame transition scenes.[7]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	54[22]
Rotten Tomatoes	42%[23]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Christian Science Monitor	C–[24]
Common Sense Media	[25]
IGN	9/10[26]
Reelviews	[27]
The A.V. Club	B–[28]
The Globe and Mail	[29]
The Playlist	B[30]
TV Guide	[31]

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 42% of 38 critic ratings are positive for the film, with an average rating of 5.11/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Splitscreen intensive and at times ambiguous, this Ellen Page vehicle cum psychodrama takes audacious risks that may confuse."[23] Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 10 reviews, citing "mixed or average reviews".[22]

Boston Herald called the film's visuals "fascinating and ambitious", and the narrative is "like origami, folded and refolded upon itself", adding that it "should be seen by anyone interested in the art of film and the art of bravura film acting. It is also a further reminder that Page is the real thing. But we knew that already."[32] A. O. Scott of New York Times wrote, "In the hands of a more literal-minded filmmaker The Tracey Fragments might well have been dreary and unbearable, a chronicle of florid self-pity justified by arbitrary cruelty. Instead it is fierce, enigmatic and affecting. Some of this has to do with Ms. Page, who seems to be everywhere these days in the wake of Juno (which was filmed after The Tracey Fragments) and who brilliantly embodies precocious intelligence under various forms of duress. While the full range of trauma that befalls Tracey does not seem entirely plausible, Ms. Page is never less than convincing."[33] V.A. Musetto from New York Post applauded McDonald's "high-octane approach" and Page's "daring performance".[34] Peter Howell of Toronto Star was positive towards film, praising Page's performance and labeling the film as "a tough watch, but a rewarding one for those open to experimentation."[35] The Playlist started their review by writing the film "is going to be polarizing in the blogosphere, not so much for the splintered film techniques, but more because of hot-button topic actress Ellen Page whose role in Juno, seemed to provoke a lot of ire of many a blogger and armchair critic who evidently hates teen girls that deign to speak in pop-cultural tones", opining that the split screen technique was "not obnoxious as it sounds" but it was "both effective and grating at times and will likely make or break the film for audiences." They concluded, "The performances are strong, the visuals are striking and romantic, the music is typically evocative yet subtle, and in spite of the dark premise, it's a lot more funny and playful than it ought to be."[30] Boston Globe's Wesley Morris noted that Page was "an amazing combination: the Bizarro Natalie Wood and the Bizarro Wednesday Addams" in a film that "never settles on an emotional tone".[36] Joe Neumaier of New York Daily News gave the film a negative review, referring to the film as "a grating stunt that plays like a film-school project, cutting a bland story into a million tiny irritating pieces". He also stated that Page "needs to drop the smart-aleck Juno bit and act her age."[37] Writing for Reelviews, James Berardinelli commented, "This unexceptional and uninteresting story of a self-pitying borderline-personality teenager verges on being unwatchable as a result of McDonald's decision to bombard the audience with extraneous images in lieu of telling the story."[27]

In his DVD review, James Musgrove from IGN said that Page "tackles yet another intense and nuanced role", and she "has never been an actress to shy away from different and demanding roles, always performing them with impeccable talent and dedication. Ladies and gentlemen, she's done it again!" He found extras to be "more or less passable". In the bottom line, he wrote "Not for everybody, but relevant to everyone. There isn't a person alive who hasn't felt like the world was falling apart around them, and it is here that we can truly empathize with Tracey. This movie may make certain viewers scratch their heads, but without the daring approach that it took, it would perhaps be nothing compared to what it became. Watch it, if only for Page's fantastic performance."[26] Another DVD review came from The A.V. Club's Noel Murray, who thought that without the "visual play", the story "wouldn't be all that exceptional" and "McDonald's collage approach is hit-and-miss, there are moments in The Tracey Fragments as exhilarating as any in recent indie cinema."[28]

On 11 December 2007, The Tracey Fragments was chosen as one of Canada's Top Ten Films of 2007 by Toronto International Film Festival.[38][39]

Tracey: Re-Fragmented was a project by the director and producers that was launched on 29 October 2007,[51][52] and made available all footage from the film shoot and the soundtrack to download and remix into "their own related projects, including music videos, new trailers or to re-edit the entire movie themselves". The footage was released under a Creative Commons licence[21] as four torrents, each approximately four gigabytes in size. Registration for the project ended on 31 January 2008.[53] A contest was held for the best use of the footage, with the winner getting an Apple Final Cut Pro software prize pack[18] and the winning material being included on the DVD release, in addition to a video by Ottawa-based punk band Sedatives.[54] This was the first time in the history of cinema that a director made free downloads of a film available to fans concurrent with the film's theatrical release.[55]

The film and the novel inspired a comic book based on Tracey's adventures beyond the film by Andy Belanger, also titled The Tracey Fragments, that was released to promote the source materials.[56][57]

A DVD launch screening in Toronto took place on 6 July 2008 with giveaways, a Q&A with Bruce McDonald, screenings of the Tracey: Re-Fragmented contestants and a sneak peek at McDonald's next film Pontypool, followed by a DVD release in Canada and the US two days later.[58]