The kind of movie that feels far more haunting conceptually then it's execution would suggest, Trade deals unflinchingly with the realities of sex-trafficking, but with the sensitivities of a made-for t.v. program. Despite the inclusion of Kevin Kline, this potentially harrowing experience is rendered weaker by some mediocre performances and a fairly bland script.
What the writers and director do accomplish with this bleak drama however is putting viewers closer into the uncomfortably realistic perspectives of these poor, young, beautiful victims in a noble attempt to increase awareness of this largely taboo subject in the west.
In the end, despite a certain emotional void created by the underdeveloped characterizations, Trade will burn it's way into our minds simply with it's authentic horror, an issue obviously close to these filmmaker's hearts. It is a shame then, that this important story had not been further fleshed out to make this moving plot-line all the more accessible to a wider crowd.
What the writers and director do accomplish with this bleak drama however is putting viewers closer into the uncomfortably realistic perspectives of these poor, young, beautiful victims in a noble attempt to increase awareness of this largely taboo subject in the west.
In the end, despite a certain emotional void created by the underdeveloped characterizations, Trade will burn it's way into our minds simply with it's authentic horror, an issue obviously close to these filmmaker's hearts. It is a shame then, that this important story had not been further fleshed out to make this moving plot-line all the more accessible to a wider crowd.