Trance Review This review will focus on the
narrative of Trance, and will
therefore contain MASSIVE SPOILERS.
Trance is a 2013 Mystery/Thriller Directed by
Danny Boyle. It stars James MacAvoy, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent Cassell.
Trance seems to begin as a heist thriller. We
see James McAvoy’s composed art auctioneer Simon heroically prevent a robbery
of a priceless painting. The thieves who failed the job (the Charming Vincent
Cassel and his menacing collection of Brit thugs) then force him to go under
hypnosis so he can remember where he hid it (after a blow to the head gives him
a textbook case of movie amnesia). He attends sessions with Elizabeth (Rosario
Dawson), a kindly yet confident femme fatale hypnotherapist, over whom he slowly
develops an obsession. As the film progresses it is the relationship between
the three leads instead of the pursuit of the painting that takes narrative
precedence.
Characters hook up, peoples shaved genitals are
nonchalantly glimpsed, and violence and betrayal ramp up the tension as the
film becomes increasingly confusing. As soon as Simon starts going into trance,
the narrative is never clear. It’s not clear if you’re supposed to know what’s
going on, and in my first viewing I was worried that I should’ve been able to
keep up. This was not the case. The film is a puzzle, albeit not one to be
worked out as you’re watching it (because the actual sequence of events is too
farfetched), more like a constant stream of lies before an explanation of the
ridiculously contrived truth. Scenes are frequently replayed from different
perspective, each time revealing new information as more dialogue or characters
are added. I guess the problem with the story is ultimately the use of
hypnosis, and its unfamiliarity to most viewers. Although the rules are
explained pretty well, it’s just a step too far for me to believe that
(SPOILER) Simon could be hypnotised to firstly forget his entire relationship
with Elizabeth and then steal a painting for her without knowing he’s doing it.
If it was a Derren Brown special it’d be more believable, but as a movie it
just seems too silly.
The act of watching the film is much more
satisfying than the reveal, although there are a lot of pleasures to be had.
Under any other director the film may have been completely underwhelming, but
Boyle gives a lot to Trance. It’s
exactly the right amount of trippy for a movie about hypnosis, not too much
special effects or people’s faces going wobbly, instead the use of
over-saturation and colour is subtly beautiful, and serves to confuse the
viewer superbly as you’re never sure if what’s going on is real. Rick Smith’s
(Underworld) soundtrack is hypnotic and pulsing, and a worthy listen without
the film.
The performances in this film are very enjoyable,
although you could argue that Vincent Cassell was mis-cast. Until the ending,
he's supposed to be the film's antagonist, only there's one problem; he's way too likable. He's a great villain in
other films, a pesky meddling cat-burglar type who's probably the best thing in
Oceans Twelve, and the intimidating and increasingly podgy titular character of
Mesrine part one and two. He smiles his way through this however, and there's
little threat of violence on his part. Despite
this, he is very watchable.
I've seen Trance
twice now, and it was much more enjoyable the second time round, as is the case
with many mystery films. There are a lot of moments that nod to the real story,
and you feel like a smarty-pants when you understand the nods to the truth; Elizabeth’s
initial pause when she 'first' meets Simon (on first viewing apparently an
indication of attraction), the restaurant with which Simon is strangely
familiar. The way the twist is handled
could have been better though. The Usual Suspects is the high benchmark for
twist reveals, and this doesn't come anyway near it, firstly because the twist
is kind of underwhelming, and secondly because of the way Elizabeth explains
the real story, with a third person monologue which is gratingly cringe worthy,
as clips of previous events as well as flashbacks are reshown. At this moment
its more 'oh' than 'ah'.
So not nearly as smart as it thinks it is, Trance’s confusing and contrived story
is saved by performance (Vincent Cassell is never dull, and despite being the
‘bad guy’ for the majority of the film I would rather have watched him over
MacAvoy for the entirety) and cinematography.
