By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.3
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Danny Sapani | James McAvoy | Matt Cross | RosarioDawson | Vincent Cassell | Wahab Sheikh
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2013
Running time: 101
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1924429/combined
Chris says: “Danny Boyle peaked early and spectacularly with TRAINSPOTTING; since then he’s mostly made one bummer after another (at this point, I’d watch only 28 DAYS LATER and maybe 127 HOURS again). What sinks most of his post-Ewan McGregor work is an egregious lack of plausibility, which is precisely the most glaring problem with his latest—unless you totally
buy into the power and effectiveness of hypnosis. Even if you don’t, this kind of trope can work as fantasy or humor (see Woody Allen’s underrated THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION). TRANCE, however, is deadly serious as it weaves a series of mind-bending double-crosses between an art auctioneer (James McAvoy), a thief (Vincent Cassel) and a hypnotist (Rosario Dawson) hired by the latter to help the former remember where he stashed a valuable painting.
“Only the truth is way more complicated than that. The story, packed with twists piled on top of one another, gets profoundly muddled. Thus, once you reach the big reveal, you no longer care, not so much due to frustration in trying to keep up but because what’s there is so farfetched (and the characters so poorly developed) that you see how empty the film is. The best things about TRANCE (apart from the cool-and-in-control Dawson) are its sleek surfaces and stunning cinematography, but even those register as distractions, failing to convince that you’re watching anything more than a brain-dead rehash of MEMENTO. 2 cats”
Toni says: “Wow, this film was waste of Vincent Cassel (EASTERN PROMISES, A DANGEROUS METHOD) and the other actors even those there were some fine editing and production design choices.
“I loved Boyle’s TRAINSPOTTING and SUNSHINE (my favorite of his films) and 28 DAYS LATER, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, and 127 HOURS had at least good stories and characters and yet this was so implausible and over the top in the wrong way.
“Also, humor could go a long way in this film which this did not have…the opening sequence showed promise but it went downhill at about 20 minutes in to the point wanting to leave the cinema…
“At least there was a trailer for the Jeff Nichols’ MUD, again prior to the film :)… 2 cats”
Thom says: “I’ve generally embraced English director Boyle having loved his TRAINSPOTTING, MILLIONS, 127 HOURS, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, & SUNSHINE and less favorably drawn to SHALLOW GRAVE, THE BEACH, A LIFE LESS ORDINARY, & 28 DAYS LATER… still, I had high hopes for this latest effort and while their were some fascinating elements to
this art heist drama it never congealed to a fully embraceable whole. Simon (McAvoy) is an art auctioneer who might or might not be involved in a high-level theft of an invaluable Goya painting. He is knocked out during the course of the stealing and awakens with amnesia. He is the kidnapped by the men who performed the task, who torture him to find out the location of the masterpiece. They finally send him to a hypnotherapist to get the hidden information out of him. In a more difficult role than the gorgeous Dawson usually plays she doesn’t quite assay the role of the doctor although because of her possible involvement with the classy scheme her role is ambiguous and confusing. Because Doyle consistently mixes the verisimilitude with dreams and imaginings and memories the film is fun but rattling to watch. But it’s the type of story that demands a socko finale and that is simply not forthcoming. It’s all a bit of a classy bore. Cassel has made a career of portraying evil criminal types and this role he could have done in his sleep, although he’s invariably interesting to watch. The film is beautifully shot. 3 cats”