Reviewing Danny Boyle's new movie Trance from 20th Century Fox starring James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel.
So before the review itself, I'd like to thank the good folks at 20th Century Fox for the invite. Truly a great movie you've got. It's also a good break from all the Summer Blockbusters and superhero movies coming out. That being said, on to the review. There's a lot of words in my head when you mention 'Trance' but for me, the words HYPNOTIC and MINDFUCK is the best way to describe the film in all it's entirety. You could also chuck in the word ART FILM for good measure. Yes, in my humble opinion this new offering from Boyle is that good.
In the psychological caper “Trance” directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, Rosario Dawson delves deep into her role as Elizabeth Lamb, a hypnotherapist that she says has broken every mold of a character she’s ever played.
Stolen memories will resurface in “Trance.” Simon (James McAvoy), a fine art auctioneer, teams up with a criminal gang to steal a Goya painting worth millions of dollars. After suffering a blow to the head during the heist, he awakens to discover he has no memory of where he hid the painting. When physical threats and torture fail to produce answers, the gang’s leader Franck (Vincent Cassel) hires hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) to reach into the darkest recesses of Simon’s psyche. As Elizabeth begins to unravel Simon’s broken subconscious, the line between truth, suggestion, and deceit begin to blur.
Academy-Award winner Danny Boyle brings together James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vince Cassel in a stirring ensemble performance in the mind-bending action thriller “Trance.”
Boyle, whose worldwide acclaimed works “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Shallow Grave,” “Trainspotting” and “127 Hours” that covered themes such as triumph of the human spirit despite abject poverty and reality brings a new kind of thrill in “Trance.” Boyle crafts a wildly twisted mind puzzle exploring identity, madness and perception using the altered state of hypnotic trance. “Trance” introduces us to Simon (McAvoy), a fine art auctioneer, who teams up with a criminal gang to steal a Goya painting, a work of art worth millions of dollars, but after suffering a blow to the head during the heist he wakes to discover that he has no memory of where he has hidden the painting. When physical threats and torture fail to produce answers, the gang’s leader Franck (Cassel) hires hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb (Dawson) to delve into the darkest recesses of Simon’s psyche. As she digs deeper into his broken subconscious, the stakes become much higher and the boundaries between desire, reality and hypnotic suggestion begin to blur and disappear.
“After “Slumdog,” producer Christian Colson and I were looking for new work to do together and I told him there were a couple of ideas I’d always been drawn to: the Aron Ralston story - which became “127 Hours” - and this mad thriller called “Trance,” recalls Boyle. “It felt like it would be perfect material for John Hodge. Boyle worked closely with screenwriter John Hodge -- with whom he collaborated on “Shallow Grave” and then on the acclaimed and shocking black comedy about Scottish junkies, “Trainspotting” -- on a screenplay that melds dangerous seduction and electrifying action in a suspense filled spiral.
