Trance

Year: 2013
Genre: Crime thriller
Director: Danny Boyle


Plot: An art auctioneer helps a band of thieves steal an expensive painting, but after an altercation with their leader, he can't remember where he hid it. They seek out a hypnotherapist to help him remember, with deadly consequences.


The gist: If I had to compare Trance to any film, I would name The Prestige or Side Effects, because they all share the same quality, which is fooling you into thinking you'll know how it ends, but you don't.

James McAvoy plays Simon, an art auctioneer who helps a band of thieves led by Franck (Vincent Cassel) steal a very valuable painting, but after he gets his head knocked, Simon forgets what happened to the painting. So they seek out a hypnotherapist, Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to help jog his memory. As she continues to work, secrets come to the surface and distrust starts to build, and nothing is what it seems.

Danny Boyle does a great job putting the film together, using good camerawork throughout and cleverly blurs the screen a bit when any character is in hypnosis or dreaming, giving the audience a first person look into their minds. However, despite the many surprises, Boyle's direction does suffer a bit from a few inconsistencies, like Simon narrating the situation in the opening sequence, but at the end of the film it turns out that it's not really his perspective that matters the most. Maybe this is in line with the above mentioned "fooling" technique, but it is rather strange.


The good: McAvoy is great as Simon, showing a side of him I've rarely seen. He just gets better with every film. Cassel is also good, playing a guy who isn't the exact same bad guy he's known for. Also the above mentioned camerawork, direction and plot.


The bad: As good as Rosario Dawson was, I think the film would have benefited from someone who can look vulnerable and dangerous at the same time, and Dawson seems to fit the former more than the latter. 


Verdict: A smart thriller overall. A little rough around the edges but worth checking out. (3.5/5)