Review of Trance (2013) by Matthew S — 18 Jun 2015

I have no idea what Danny Boyle was thinking when he made this film. I'm all for pushing the boundaries, but the output still needs to be of quality. I had my doubts from the offset, as I have personally studied and been certified in hypnotherapy. I knew that any thriller using hypnosis as a plot-twist would most likely warp its truths and methods. What I didn't expect, however, was a story as thin as gossamer threads that bordered on the highly ridiculous.

I was fully invested during the film's first half. Despite a few grumbles at the screen, I was mildly intrigued and the acting was never diabolical by any means. By the film's end, however, I just shook my head in disbelief. There was definitely shock value. No I did not see that coming; but only because it should never have been humored as a possibility to begin with! Boyle has guts, that's for sure, because this film would have been better played out as a fantasy in which sorcery, not hypnosis, was used as the prime tool of deceitfulness. If I had possession of a magic wand, I would erase the time I invested on this farcical affair and sit through another movie altogether.