Trance (2013)

An art auctioneer who has become mixed up with a group of criminals partners with a hypnotherapist in order to recover a lost painting.

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writers:

Joe Ahearne, John Hodge

Stars:

James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James McAvoy	...	Simon
Vincent Cassel	...	Franck
Rosario Dawson	...	Elizabeth
Danny Sapani	...	Nate
Matt Cross	...	Dominic
Wahab Sheikh	...	Riz
Mark Poltimore	...	Francis Lemaitre
Tuppence Middleton	...	Young Woman in Red Car
Simon Kunz	...	Surgeon
Michael Shaeffer	...	Security Guard #1
Tony Jayawardena	...	Security Guard #2
Vincent Montuel	...	Handsome Waiter
Jai Rajani	...	Car Park Attendant
Spencer Wilding	...	60's Robber
Gursharan Chaggar	...	Postman

Storyline

A fine art auctioneer mixed up with a gang joins forces with a hypnotherapist to recover a lost painting. As boundaries between desire, reality and hypnotic suggestion begin to blur the stakes rise faster than anyone could have anticipated.

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Plot Keywords:

lost painting | painting | hypnotherapist | one word title | fire | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, some grisly images, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [br]

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

27 March 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

En trance

Filming Locations:

Dungeness, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$131,145 (USA) (5 April 2013)

Gross:

$2,295,614 (USA) (17 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Fassbender was cast as Franck but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Colin Firth was briefly considered for the part before Vincent Cassel was cast.

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Goofs

The gun that Simon uses at the end is a pistol able to hold six bullets at a time but in the warehouse, he fires more than six shots without reloading.

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Quotes

Simon: I was really good, but not good enough. And not good enough really isn't very good.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.122 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Here It Comes"
Written & Performed by Emeli Sandé and Rick Smith
Emeli Sandé appears courtesy of Virgin Records Limited
Courtesy of Emeli Sandé and Smith Hyde Productions

User Reviews

Snazzier Art

Danny Boyle returns to his mind boggling roots, such as Sunshine and 28 Days Later, with Trance. Trance has a thought provoking concept that might bring some memorable mind blowing amazement on screen. It shows its high concept pretty well and it lets the audience fascinate from start to finish. Further on, the story develops a strange twist which leads to an awkward conclusion. Despite all odds, the film is thankful to have Boyle creating a brisk style throughout the experience and a set of brilliant performances making it more than entertaining. It's a little disappointing, but most of the film is really worth watching.

The plot is simple, but the idea beneath it is what makes it sound more than just simple. It begins with a stylishly shot heist sequence that gives so much promise to the picture. It gets even more interesting when it introduces its hypnosis. It shows plenty of smart ideas to it. There are some point that may remind you of Inception but the film also finds some clever ways to make it look unique. It eventually becomes twisted and tells some unpredictable revelations. Twisted and unpredictable are good until the sudden plot twist comes along. It shifts from dangerous to ridiculous. Well, mind bending films are best when it makes no sense at first then it lets you try to put the pieces together afterwards, but the random involvement of one character to the core conflict of the story is somehow exasperating.

There is no denying that the performance are great. James McAvoy finely balances his character's fear, rage, and charisma. Rosario Dawson is graceful enough for a hypnotherapist. One of the best here is Vincent Cassel. His character is generally suppose to be unlikeable but Cassel manages to be terrifying and so much fun to watch.

We may complain about its weaker parts but it's still extremely entertaining. To be honest, this is probably Danny Boyle's snazziest film he has ever made so far. Though, there are better Boyle films out there, this one seems to be more energetic, and smartly shot and edited. His sense of style brings camp and surrealism that feels like you're in a perfect zone of trance. There are sequences that are simply magnificent which makes you just want to look around the exteriors, like a piece of art. The music score and soundtrack fits through the fanciness of the film.

Trance embraces the point of being mind bending. It plays with your mind enough which is already a remarkable merit, it just could have been simpler in the end. The twist indeed affects a lot to what it was set up, but the best parts still took over the experience. The film's awesome craft and trippy effects immediately spellbind the viewers. It would have been a classier fabulous thriller. It's difficult to forgive its far-fetched conclusion, but again it is a snazzy piece of manic art by Danny Boyle that is definitely a cinematic joy.