Review of Trance (2013) by Jared S — 07 Sep 2013

When some movies use misdirection in their plots it can easily become annoying. Danny Boyle' s Trance, a hypnotic heist-thriller of the mind, is one of the cases where all of the twists work. Trance is very much a Hitchcockian thriller, not just because it's loaded with suspense, but because the actual crime is merely a way to have psychological examinations on the criminals, the victims and the pursuers. Also, like Christopher Nolan' s Mementoz it features an unreliable protagonist who can't trust his own memories. However, you won't spend most of the time scratching your head. With Boyle' s signature visuals and pop music you'll enjoy having the rug pulled out from under you.

James McAvory plays Simon, an auctioneer at a London gallery. During a robbery he is tasked to protect a valuable painting by Goya worth £20 million, but is hit on the head by Franck (Vincent Cassel), the lead thief. Only Simon has already hid the painting before Franck could get his hands on it. After torturing him, Franck realizes that Simon genuinely can't remember where the painting is and hires Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), a physiotherapist, to help Simon retrieve his memory. Once inside his mind, reality blurs with imaginations making Simone unsure of who to trust.

The three leads are exceptional. McAvory plays up his nice-guy image that we've seen before, then takes a sharp turn in the character we've never thought he could accomplish. Cassel plays another morally ambiguous character, only here he has more dimensions to show a complex man. Except for Nate (Danny Saponi) revealing his deep fear of being buried alive, the other gangsters working for Franck don't have much to do. The real star here is Dawson, whose calm voice is well suited during the therapy sessions. Gradually she manipulates Franck into getting a share of the money because she is the only one to get the memory out of Simone.

Boyle and his cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle use flashy colors and reflections to change our perceptions of the characters. One scene, half-way through, made me lose my breath as a crucial clue on the painting' s whereabouts is almost revealed before blowing up in everyone's faces. I won't spoil any more but the kinetic editing helped convey that feeling. The one thing that is keeping me from liking this film even more is that there is not one truly good person to root for, given that the message is about a victim taking control over a situation. Terrible things happen to people because of this, especially to one innocent person that didn't have to suffer from everyone's greed.

Even though the ending shows the possibilities of hope, this isn't one of Boyle' s more uplifting, good-for-the-souls like 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire or Millions, it is still entertaining. I enjoyed Trance a lot. It's worth seeing again immediately to spot the clues that lead to the final reveal.