Trance (2013) Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring: James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson. IMDB says: “An art auctioneer who has become mixed up with a group of criminals partners with a hypnotherapist in order to recover a lost painting.”
Even though Trance isn’t as initially powerful as some of Danny Boyle’s other masterful films, it’s still a lot of fun and an engaging crime story that aims higher than most. Comparing the film to Danny Boyle’s other work is inevitable but if given the chance, Trance will hold you in its grasp until the final frame.
The events of the story are initiated by Simon (James McAvoy,) who narrates the details of his job at a high priced art auction. He explains the simple procedures the auction has in place for the event of a robbery or attempt to take one of the extremely valuable pieces of art up for bid. The audience is quickly familiarized with these protection steps and is then tested with that brief knowledge as we see an actually robbery attempt in action. All seems to go accordingly except for a moment when Simon defies the mantra “Don’t be a hero. No piece of art is worth a human life.” by provoking the thief (Vincent Cassel) with a taser. His actions cause Cassel’s character to deliver a swift blow to his head which in turn, causes his short term memory less. Besides the head wound, the heist seemed rather routine, but thief Franck is stunned when he learns that the bag he has escaped with does not contain the valuable painting. Franck and his goons torture Simon until they learn that he absolutely has memory loss. They then resort to a hypnotherapist named Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to help them uncover the true location of the painting.
The core idea of Trance – possible double crossing thief turned victim (due to memory loss) really hooked me. What if you planned to take part of a robbery but something went wrong? It seems you might have had plans of your own to keep the score for yourself but now you aren’t sure and the other criminals want answers and possibly your head. Here is where the swift moving film starts off but somewhere along the way, it (somewhat unfortunately) focuses less on what happened to the painting and more about what’s happening to Simon’s brain. Because he is so easily suggestible, Simon moves very quickly in and out of the trance state. Sometimes it is obvious to tell when he is under, while other times the film is more mysterious about its intentions. There is a tug and pull over what is real and what is being suggested, whether the characters have free will and who is pulling the strings. It always keeps you guessing but is occasionally a puzzle too confusing to properly work out within the moment. Even though that is a bit damaging at times, the overall experience made me crave a second viewing to work it out. Because Boyle is at the helm, there is enough to believe that I possibly missed a set of clues and small tells that would probably be more apparent on a repeat watch.
Moving forward with Boyle’s involvement, it isn’t much of a shock that his direction is stand out in Trance. As anyone familiar with his work may have guessed, the film carries with it a tremendous use of color, spot on musical choices and signature kinetic action sequences. Everything pops and lives on screen making sure the audiences eyes are as wide as saucers and their minds are working on high alert. Another small but notable element I really enjoyed was the special effects work on display. The movie isn’t drenched in big set pieces but when necessary, the effects imagery shine on screen.
Kudos can also be given to the film’s cast. There is some fine acting from Cassel who plays the thief with an almost ambiguous morality and Rosario Dawson does some of her best work as the dreamy hypnotherapist in the middle of it all. McAvory seems to be giving his best Ewan McGregor for the role but I certainly didn’t mind it.
Overall, Trance can be described as both confusing and far fetched but that doesn’t so much work against it as it demands repeat viewings. I’m sure I would have a more concrete verdict on the movie after having done so.
Trance opens in nationwide Friday, April 12th.