TRADER: The Thrill Of The Transaction

There’s something enticing about Corey Stanton’s Trader, even when it leans heavily on its hyper-focused sensibilities. Even as it tests your patience for the dislikable lead, and makes you wonder why you’re plugged right in, beside her, instinctually committed to her end game. 

Kimberly-Sue Murray is the Trader, unnamed and unaccompanied for the film’s entirety. She’s our only face and guide through this fast-paced thriller of financial mayhem.

Welcome to Her World

Our Trader lives in what appears to be a basement-like apartment, but could very well be her own Batcave of mischievous behavior. It’s claustrophobic, barren, littered with boxes and various electronics.

A unique introduction to the finance world, cinema is no stranger to the stock market portrayed on screen. But, with a singular character? This is a perspective that is very rarely seen.

The movie opens to her committing phone fraud as well as stealing the caller’s prescription. She then purchases expensive goods and sells them. It’s a racket that she’s an expert of. 

While it’s working, it isn’t enough, and thus begins her journey into the world of day trading. She thrives on not only the potential for more money, but for the rush, a thrill that comes from mastering and owning a financial landscape. Once there’s blood in the water, she’s fierce. 

This is an endeavor that she knows nothing about, but is a quick learner. We watch as she studies books and does test runs (and fails) as well as her integration into the online socials where she hopes she’ll learn some trade secrets.

This is where she specifically reigns in stockbroker Bob (voiced by Shaun Benson) by her interest, intelligence, and flirty demeanor.
Our Trader goes through different transformations depending on what will best suit her in the moment, and it always comes down to what’s best for her. A resolute sociopathic with little to lose. 

A carefully curated experience, Trader is visceral. 

Energy Drinks, Pharmaceuticals, Wasabi, GO

With a pedal to the metal (of amphetamines, wasabi, and caffeine) sort of grind, Trader is a head-spinning adrenaline rush that ensures you invest and sense the high-risk world of trading that she’s exploring.

Set in one location, outside of phone calls and internet conversations, this is a one-woman show. She’s a master manipulator and a calculated protagonist.

Her determination is intense, and she has a sort of “burn it all down” ferocity that hooks you immediately. Her confidence comes in troves and it is unnerving at times. Her performance is so effective that you watch with wide eyes and an elevated pulse, as if by watching you’re complicit. 

With an energetic style of editing and direction that makes this limited space soar, it very much feels like a “set” but rather than that of an independent film, it’s a walk into her thought process.

The cinematography by Carl Elster creates an entryway into her frame of mind, using colorful cues (often coinciding with her trading) and internal conversations to fill in the gaps between keyboard taps. 

Lit up by her computer screen, her fast-moving fingers and wired in the brain, get to work. Through many failures and that overwhelming inescapable reality of “luck” she eventually begins to interfere in an attempt to make the numbers go her way. This takes her down a dire lane of playing god with one company in particular, hiking up the risks and suspense.

Up and Downs

Trader is a straightforward and unabashedly bold feature that employs what it has in full steam with an emphasis on a compelling lead and a tight script. It’s possible some may be grated by the character’s choices, but they never feel strange for the richly conceived portrayal at the center. Her frustration is ours, and it envelops the entire picture. 

While it doesn’t make every scene as riveting as it has the potential to be, it maintains a steady curiosity. How far will she go? 

Kimberly-Sue Murray is an enigmatic antihero who creates a love-to-hate performance. It’s obsession, it’s heart-pounding mania at times, but it’s always provocative. 

The script, also by Corey Stanton maximizes limited parts to build something that feels loud.  It works best as a quirky heightened experience, keeping the overall details grounded while some of the more experimental factors become redundant. The pacing never dulls and the tone is playful with apt instances of humor filtered throughout. It makes for an interesting character study that asks: What would you do to win? 

As a debut feature, Stanton shows significant vision and I can’t wait to see what he comes out with next.

Conclusion:

A lucrative endeavor or a plummet into failure? Trader deals in absolutes of loser or winner, holding herself at a level of success that is painful at times to watch.

Kimberly-Sue Murray commands the screen with her full display of expressions, ever-present and always captivating. In one of the best performances of the year, Trader is an explosive, relentless journey.

Have you seen Trader? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Trader is currently available on VOD.