Review of Trance (2013) by Akhil A — 04 Sep 2013

Too much going on.

Trance centres around art auctioneer Simon (James McAvoy) who, along with Frank (Vincent Cassel) and his gang, plan to rob a Goya painting worth in the region of £25 million. However, after suffering a serious blow to the head during the robbery, Simon cannot remember where he hid the painting, or even why he hid it. In an attempt to gain back the lost memories, the group seek the help of hypnotherapist Dr. Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) who delves into the deepest parts of Simon's mind. The deeper she delves into Simon's subconscious, the more we start to find out that suggestion can be a powerful tool.

I would like to start with the positives of this film as they are quick and simple. What stops this film from being a travesty is the solid acting of the main cast and the stunning direction that has become standard of Danny Boyle. James McAvoy delivers a character quite puzzled with his life, confused throughout a large portion of the film with his true colours being revealed as the film progresses. While Cassel, putting a lot into the role, begins as the macho leader of the heist, yet through time his vulnerabilities are displayed for everyone to see. As mentioned Boyle shows his stunning innovation once again, providing camera angles that most directors would not even think of. For one particular shot he has the camera facing out of McAvoy's trouser pocket, something that surprisingly works.

What let Trance down so heavily was the story itself. The amount of information jammed into the 101 minutes of film is extraordinary. This is hard to explain without spoilers, but Trance just doesn't make up its mind regarding genre. The film has large elements of heist, romance, thriller, comedy, everything. It is not that the film is confusing or overly complicated, but at times it feels that it is almost trying to over complicate itself.

I find that instead of the big twist revealing itself at the end, resulting in a timely explanation of what had been seen throughout the film, the twist appears within the first 30 minutes and then engulfs the film from then on rather unsuccessfully. Furthermore, due to the films confusion regarding which avenue it wants to go down, some of the turning points and important moments in the film pass by too quickly. I must stress, it is extremely hard to give away anything about this film without spoilers, which turns out to be another problem of putting far too much information into this relatively short film by modern standards.

Trance would definitely benefit from adding on at least another 45 minutes of film. Maybe Boyle's Olympic preparations took up a bit too much of his time.

J.Henderson.

5.5/10.