Based on Medved's 1998 novel of the same name, it stars Elliot Page[a] as Tracey Berkowitz exploring the city in search of her missing brother, presented in a nonlinear narrative and split screen format.

Bullied at her public school, Tracey's closest person to a friend is her homely psychiatrist, Dr. Heker, who is at first cold to her and doubtful of her perception of the world as accurate.

She fantasizes about Billy and her in a famous tabloid relationship, in which they run a metalcore band duet with Tracey taking on the stage name "Estuary Palomino" and bleaching her hair blonde.

Tracey's everyday world is shown to involve riding the buses in Manitoba repeatedly, looking for Sonny, having stopped attending classes or living at home.

Meanwhile, on the bus, she begins associating with the other lost and homeless people of the city, mostly hipsters and junkies with similar lives to hers and not a lot of money or emotional support.

A final flashback reveals that, on the night of the blizzard, Tracey was grounded but escaped her house under the guise of "taking Sonny for a walk" while she went to meet Billy.

A final fragment shows Tracey wandering naked under her shower curtain, ignorant of Billy's attempt to speak with her, through a Winnipeg park at night.

McDonald decided to use multiframe techniques and split screen format with mosaic images, which was inspired by sources as diverse as The Thomas Crown Affair, The Boston Strangler, a Beastie Boys video, and Piet Mondrian's paintings.

The actor 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 he felt he 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".

[12][13][14][15][16] The Tracey Fragments was selected to open the Panorama section of the 57th Berlin International Film Festival and had its world premiere on February 8, 2007.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Splitscreen intensive and at times ambiguous, this Elliot Page vehicle cum psychodrama takes audacious risks that may confuse.

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.

Some of this has to do with [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.

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.

Club's Noel Murray, 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.

[54] A contest was held for the best use of the footage, with the winner getting an Apple Final Cut Pro software prize pack[19] and the winning material being included on the DVD release, in addition to a video by Ottawa-based punk band Sedatives.