Trance (2013)

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

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writers:

Joe Ahearne (screenplay), John Hodge (screenplay)

Stars:

James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel

3 wins & 3 nominations.

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 | female frontal nudity | hypnotherapist | criminal | heist | 

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Taglines:

Inside the mind. Outside the law.

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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 [Brazil]

Country:

UK USA France

Language:

English French

Release Date:

27 March 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

En trance

Filming Locations:

Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$131,145, 7 April 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,319,187, 2 June 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos SDDS Datasat Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At least 2 of the players in the poker game scene are members of The Hendon Mob, a group of poker professionals from London. The 2 players are also brothers Ross and Barney Boatman.

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Goofs

The view of Auvers by Paul Cezanne in the room of lost or stolen paintings is actually in the Art Institute of Chicago. It was a different painting by him with the same title that was stolen from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK on December 31 1999.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Simon: [auctioneer is barking prices] There is a painting, it's by Rembrandt. 'Storm On The Sea Of Galilee', it's called, and he's in it. Old Rembrandt, he's in the painting. He's in there, right in the middle of the storm, looking straight at you. But... you can't see him. And the reason you can't see him is because the painting has been stolen.

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits have rolled, the audience hears the familiar five taps on the glass window that was an iconic audible signature throughout the film.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

Sandman
Written and Performed by Kirsty McGee
Courtesy of Hobopop Productions
Also Performed by Rosario Dawson

User Reviews

Aims for complexity but is unnecessarily confusing – end result isn't "oh wow" but "oh for f's sake"

I was quite looking forward to Trance; I had heard a critic say that it was a real effort by Danny Boyle to get out from under the "national treasure" status he had obtained by how well he opened the Olympics in 2012 and that as a result Trance was very much against that image. He was correct because this is a very graphic film in many ways but before that we get to the plot. The plot is simple – an art robbery goes wrong for some reason, with the painting lost when the inside man hides it but forgets where he hid it due to damage inflicted during the robbery. The gang go to a hypnotherapist to try to get it out of him and from here it only gets messy.

I can see what the plot was trying to do because it is constantly twisting and turning as minds are messed with; actions may or may not be programmed; events may or may not be happening and those who appear in control may or may not actually be in control and, even if they are (or aren't), they soon won't be (or will be) because everything will change in a minute. I guess the aim is that the film was aiming for a narrative similar to that of Inception or Usual Suspects, where the story the audience is being told may not be the real story at all. At the end of both these films the effect is to be impressed by how well it did it and I'm sure for many like myself there was the desire to watch it again to be able to see the film in the new context you have. With Trance I did not have this feeling, when things did fall into place I only felt that it was such a messy pile that it had fallen into and I had not enjoyed or been engaged in the manner in which it got there or indeed where it got me at all. You can sense it wants to be smarter and more thrilling that it is, but where Usual Suspects is slick and stylish on its journey, this really just bumbles and blasts it way to the finish hoping it can carry you with it by force alone.

This force comes in the style of Boyle's direction and mostly it is good from this point of view – it is a good looking film but it does really feel like he is forcing the excess for the sake of it rather than it being part of the film. So the very extreme scenes of gore felt like the complexity of the story – there for the sake of being there. Of course this is not to say that I didn't appreciate the extreme (almost "no holds barred") nudity from Rosario Dawson, but again even for the teenage boy in my head, it felt forced and unnatural (the use of her nude – not her as a nude). The cast go along with it the best they can. McAvoy is good while Cassel always has a mean presence. Support cast is decent but I am really not sure about Dawson. It is not that she herself is not good, it is just that the film asks too much of her character and it is clear that Dawson doesn't always know who she is be – in any one scene she can be what is required, but in terms of making it one whole character or making links between these scenes, she cannot do it. I do not think the fault is all her – I guess the relationship with Boyle didn't help with this aspect, but for sure her performance seems unsure and a bit erratic.

Trance will try to bluster and bully you into thinking you're watching something really smart and well structured, but this is not the case. The film is confusing for the sake of it, excessive for the sake of it and ultimately tries to ride this to a satisfying conclusion but in the end you will not be left with feeling that you immediately want to see it again but rather the lingering doubt as to whether you should have bothered in the first place.