Review: Trance

Art auctioneer Simon (James McAvoy) is selling a painting when the work is seized in an armed robbery, and in the ensuing chaos Simon is hit hard by gaudy Gallic gang-leader Franck (Vincent Cassel). It turns out that Simon was in on the whole thing to clear his uncontrollable gambling debt (get a grip), but hid the painting and the concussion has rendered this memory lost. So the bad guys, after a healthy dose of fingernail torture, turn to hypnotist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to extract the whereabouts of their precious loot. Cue twists and turns as the memory is forced out, along with a whole host of other things, and the characters all plot against each other. If I say anything more I'll give stuff away. 

One article in The Guardian lays into the psychotherapy aspect a bit, but really, it's a film. Danny Boyle has released Trance, not A Complete and Accurate Guide to Psychotherapy and the Scheming so-and-sos Who Practise It. No, many people's problem with Trance will likely be that they are confused: it seems overly complicated- Hitchcock directs Fear and Loathing. But that's kind of the point. I think that Boyle is purposefully bedazzling his audience with camera tricks, split screens, several scenes interspersed, a non-linear time frame and a snakily winding plot. He is like a magician, muddling a piece of string into a ball before, with one swift movement, straightening it out in a now-obvious fashion. So don't be too put off by the twisting events and turns, just allow yourself to fall into the haze and trust that all will be clear at the end.

One of the central themes is who is in control: is it the gangsters? They are physically in control. Is the auction worker? He is in control materially (of the painting) and in control of the memory of its location. Is the hypnotist? She is in control mentally, because it is she that instructs the patients when under her spell. They are all masters of their fate in some realm, but in others completely passive. My problem is that the one woman is only decisive in a Machiavellian and secretive way- she operates in constant fear of her power being exposed. So although she has a profound hold over the thugs, her nefarious scheming still plays second fiddle to the dominance of the patriarchy.

The acting is quite good, although personally Cassel was the only stand-out. He's good at playing snivelly bad guys, his beady eyes peering over his turned-up Roman nose. He sneered his way through Mesrine (both parts), Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen and Black Swan, and he sneers his way through this.

Trance is certainly not director Danny Boyle's finest work: Slumdog Millionaire or Trainspotting (and the Olympic opening ceremony if you count that) might be. But it's incredibly stylish, entertaining, and most of the plot turns are unforeseeable. So, a genuine thriller if not a masterpiece.

Not quite the Mona Lisa