Review of Trance (2013) by Kxliu19 — 29 Apr 2013

Trance, Danny Boyle's latest endeavor, is a neo-noir drama thriller that rivals Christopher Nolan's Inception, and captivates you with its mind-bending plot. Simon (James McAvoy) works in a fine art auction house and becomes involved in a heist of the famous "Witches in the Air" by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. During the robbery, Simon's attempt to double-cross the gang's leader, Franck (Vincent Cassel), goes awry when Franck hits him on the head and gives him a concussion. After recovering from his traumatic injury, Simon, much to the dismay of the gang, can no longer remember where he has hidden the painting. Therefore, they turn to Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson), a hypnotherapist, to help Simon recover these hidden memories from the depths of his psyche. It's during these hypnotic sessions that the film comes to life, as the lines between dreams, desires, and reality begin to blur, and the truth becomes increasingly hard to discern.

In the midst of grappling with issues ranging from identity to moral ambiguity, Trance, like Boyle's other works, is a visually enticing experience with masterful use of highly saturated psychedelic colors. Nicely complementing the mesmerizing cinematography is an equally-engaging soundtrack, featuring an original electronic score composed by Rick Smith of the Underworld and memorable selections of songs, especially the use of "The Day" by Moby. While I admit, Trance requires some leaps of faith with regards to the plot, these leaps hardly pose an issue when viewing the film, and are practically non-existent with strong believable performances from the leads. In particular, Dawson shines as a surprisingly nuanced femme fatale, who straddles the carefully balanced role of both sexually-enticing and empowering.