Review of Trance (2013) by Matthew R — 23 Jul 2014

Have you ever met a beautiful woman that is so beautiful that you are a bit startled when, on terms of personality, she is rather empty?

So is the case of "Trance". A psychological thriller full of neo-noir colors and textures, there are a few too many instances in which we are hypnotized by its sumptuousness, but left in the cold by its twisty plot. In many cases, a thriller with a story that takes unpredictable turns can be a good thing - but with "Trance", it's what turns a film with terrific potential into something that is only vaguely memorable. Because we are kept in the dark for so long, and there are many trick endings, the actual conclusion almost feels false.

Simon (James McAvoy) may trick the world into thinking that he is an art auctioneer, but in reality, he is a criminal who has teamed up with a band of thugs to steal a priceless Goya painting. During the long-planned heist, he decides to double cross his fellow thieves and keep the painting for himself. But when he receives a near lethal blow to the head, he is stricken with amnesia.

The head honcho of the operation, Franck (Vincent Cassel), would rather die than not receive the benefits of millions of dollars, so he decides the best way to get inside Simon's beaten brain is by hiring a hypnotist: he gets one in Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson), whose sultry demeanor makes her just as much of a temptress as an asset.

Though her skills usually work on her patients, Simon is a difficult case, and instead of remembering the short period of time before his injury, he is replacing it with thoughts of Elizabeth. Of course, a love triangle forms between her, Franck, and Simon - which only accents the urgency of finding the painting.

What begins as a skintight, better than average B-movie turns into a maze that we cannot find our way out of. Boyle is a great director, but his implementing of a few too many twists makes "Trance" frustrating instead of gratifying. It's clear that one of the key ideas in the film is to reflect Simon's chipped memory banks, never truly letting us know what is and what isn't a dream. But it can't keep up with itself - it is so obsessed with the idea of boggling our minds that sometimes it forgets to finish its sentence.

McAvoy is supposedly our hero, but we are never given a real reason to root for him - at times, I had more fun when in the shoes of Franck (played with such slick evilness by Cassel). You can almost feel his desperation for the painting on the tips of your fingers. McAvoy gives it his all, but his committed performance is derailed by a film who seems to want to make a voodoo doll out of him.

The best in the cast is Dawson, who has never been given a role so magnetic and seductive. She is the perfect femme fatale; even when she is first introduced, we can sense that behind her slow, knowing voice, there is a sort of hunger for danger that can't be resisted. Dawson is both put on a pedestal and objectified, but she is the most memorable thing in a film that's intoxicating from far away, but from up close, a real mess.

If it was created by a newcomer, "Trance" might have been good - but Boyle is a bit too confident in himself. It makes for a thriller that leaves us hypnotized not by the film itself, but by the idea of finally getting an answer to all of the madness we've been sitting through. Luckily, we are never bored. But we are never satisfied.