Danny Boyle to me is one of the most interesting directors around. Looking at his filmography the movies he has directed are all very different in subject matter. Movies he has made include Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours. Trance is the next movie in his impressive career and the concept of this movie is an original one and could have easily been a Hitchcock movie with secrets deeply locked away somewhere needing to be uncovered.
Simon (James McAvoy) works at an auction house and as the Trainspotting like voice over explains at the beginning of the movie he has been extensively trained to deal with criminals trying to perform a robbery during an auction. The inevitable happens and he performs almost all the actions he should, but there is a moment he deviates and it’s exactly the reason shortly after the robbery he is contacted by the robbers, lead by Franck (Vincent Cassel). They are missing a painting and they are saying he has the knowledge about its whereabouts. The big problem is that Simon can not remember any of the details and a hypnotherapist, Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) is hired to try to get the information out of his brain.
Visually the movie is a joy to look at (and no, I’m not only talking about the full frontal nude shot of Dawson). There are a lot of moments shot through glass which gave it a very slick, modern look. Whether you’ll be able to enjoy this movie depends on how far you are willing to go along with its premise. Do you really believe that secrets can be unlocked very easily by hypnosis and that people can be programmed to do something after having had it done. I went along with it for the most part although towards the end it started to become a bit too much for me. The story offers a few unexpected twists which I quite enjoyed although some things started making less sense towards the end and really were a bit too much for me. Still worth a look, but don’t put it at the top of your “to watch” list.
For me, this is Danny Boyle’s most exciting film since Trainspotting as it has this great visual style, a warped approach to film noir, and refuses to play by the rules. It wasn’t even in my radar when I was coming up with my list of films to see for 2013. It just reminded me why I love him so much and never overlook him again.
Wow, that is some high praise! It does do it differently and happy to hear that you enjoyed it Steven.
Great review! I enjoyed this, not my favorite Boyle film, but still a good one. I was not expecting that shot of Rosario Dawson. Unfortunately that’s the first thing I think of when I think about this film now.
Thanks Brittani. That shot was very unexpected and one I will not forget any time soon.
Top review. Been looking forward to this one.
Thank you, hope you will not be disappointed.
Good review Nostra. It’s a fun flick, but a very minor one from Danny Boyle. Who knows what he has planned next though.
Thanks Dan. I always look forward to his movies so am interested to see what he will come up with next.
Pingback: Trance | filmstvandlife
Nice review. I like Boyle’s work, but mostly his older stuff. I missed it in theaters and probably will check it out on DVD.
Thanks. I pretty much like most of the movies he makes, but I can understand you like the vibe of the earlier ones more.
Nice review! I enjoyed this, thought it was a good bit of fun. I did think it felt a little shallow though and got quite messy towards the end. I thought it tied itself in knots a little. Still, it looked great and the performances were pretty decent, I thought.
Thanks Chris I can’t say I did not enjoy it but wished the end a bit better. Yeah, decent performances indeed even though Cassell was not used enough.
Pingback: » Movie Review – The Rundown (2003) Fernby Films
Pingback: Movie Review – Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead |