Trance

Trance_360P

source: Trance

Trance is insulting in how much of a self indulgent, horribly paced mess it is. The plot is full of holes. Gratuitous nudity that made our screening burst into laughter. So called "Explosions" of violence go off like a damp squib. Everything feels out of place and badly storyboarded (if they even bothered with that). Character evolution is missing. This is a seriously shocking affair. It's not clever, it's extremely dull and stupid. It only takes ten minutes to work out the twist and then you are subjected to an eternity of "Wheres the painting?" "I don't know where the painting is" until you want to pull out your eyes and rip off your ears. Zero atmosphere, zero focus. It's only success is making me angry thinking about it now. Its very hard to think of anything positive about this. One to miss.

Trance is disappointing. This movie jumps back and forth between reality and hallucinations so much that you eventually stop caring about what happens to the characters. And when the movie finally does explain what's going on, it's more frustrating than satisfying. Danny Boyle is one of my favorite directors, but this is far from his best work.

Since my Danny Boyle fandom began in 2007, he's had a great habit of topping himself. Sunshine blew me away and I still enjoy it today, Slumdog Millionaire was an addictive experience and 127 Hours is so incredibly cathartic that it remains right beside Trainspotting in my ranking. He's got enough in his backlog for me to call myself a lifelong fan. But when it comes to Trance, it seems like he's forgotten the last 17 years entirely. I see what he was trying to do here. I love his debut, Shallow Grave, when I was on my first Danny Boyle high with 4 of his films in my top 10 of all-time, Grave was my favourite. It's Boyle's own favourite. He has the philosophy that a debut film is always the best one because it best represents the energy of a new talent. Perhaps Boyle missed England, he hasn't set a film here since Millions, nearly 10 years ago. The quality of Trance could've been expectable from Boyle back in the 90s, but he has such a better standard than this today that it's not acceptable. It feels as though the film Boyle would've made to followup Shallow Grave, and then subsequently crashed under the pressure. Like Grave, it features a triptych of immoral characters who seduce, taunt and torture each other to get what they want. There's no-one to root for. But that's okay, Grave made it work, but Trance scrambles its material and sets it in a bizarre world that's dangerous yet comical to the point where it doesn't add up. It wants us to question what's real and what's not real but the "real-world" is so strange that it's already lost me. It does have mystery and it does make me intrigued, but it resolves it in a very contrived way, if unpredictable. The opening is enjoyable enough but once it gets past the middle, it becomes such a jumbled mess that I don't know what was going on nor do I really care. The huge twists are a step too far and results it in being a visceral and mostly gruesome experience. Better in the sense that it made the story and characters richer but it didn't really improve the film. However, to its credit, it's never boring. It's just ridiculous and confusing. The least you can expect from Boyle is a whirlwind of visuals and music, and while the music delivers as always, the cinematography is really all over the place and doesn't feel cinematic at all. It feels amateur and devoid of atmosphere and character. It's a film that doesn't know what it wants to be - fun, funny or mind-blowing? It just ends up unpleasant. To be fair, it does deliver some thrills, even if it doesn't really add up or resonate emotionally. And there's some Boyle charm that I love regardless of the packaging. McAvoy and Cassel's performances are great, even if their characters are complete messes. Unfortunately, Dawson doesn't stand up to them, although she starts strong, the more she gets involved, the more out of place she becomes. Very disappointing, his worst, even under Millions and A Life Less Ordinary. 4/10

Any movie concerning the manipulation of a character's mind is going to present an unreliable narrative. Inevitably the rug is going to be pulled from said character, usually upending the audience as well. Danny Boyle's latest Trance is but one more film that tries to bait and switch us, but unfortunately the only effective twist in this tale is the rapid deterioration of an illogical but often gripping thriller into a sloppy and occasionally puerile mess, with a third act that lands with such a thud that any goodwill earned early on seems to be a hazy memory of a different film. Trance tells the story of Simon (James McAvoy), an apparently naive auctioneer caught in the middle of a high stakes art heist who loses his memory after a crack on the head from the heel of a shotgun wielded by thief Franck (Vincent Cassel). Enter Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), the hypnotherapist hired by Franck to break through Simon's amnesia to reveal the location of a £25 million painting that vanished in the robbery. The logic of the film is murky from the get go, but Boyle fires Trance out of the gate with such furious pace that allows little time to stop and pick apart the pseudo-scientific aspects of hypnotism as depicted here. Typically of the director, they style seems to take precedence over the substance, and a terrific soundtrack (all the better if you're fortunate enough to see the film in a Dolby Atmos theatre) contributes to the slickness of it all. Truth be told, there's a lot in Trance that is pretty enjoyable. The cool neo-noir vibe works well despite the obvious cracks in the surface of the script. Until, that is, the cracks become a gaping crevasse, torn open by the baffling decisions to hang a fairly significant story point on a frankly idiotic idea, and grind the relentless charge toward the climax to a halt with turgid exposition that makes little sense in the context of the story. It's simply bad writing, and the film has no time to recover, left instead with an ending that has zero real impact beyond the crushing confusion of it all. Trance had the potential to see Danny Boyle to get back on track after a couple of minor works (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) that generated a lot of awards buzz but little enduring quality. It's disappointing to see a filmmaker with such a unique and varied catalogue of work hit a rough patch like this, but if you're waiting for a work that shakes Boyle from his slump, Trance just isn't it. tinribs27.wordpress.com

Full disclosure, I might not have been as harsh on this film if Danny Boyle wasn't the director but with Boyle I expect more, Trainspotting was a very cool film. I have always given Danny Boyle films a chance, even if they don't appeal to me, after Trance I will stop that. Trance didn't look that interesting to me, but I thought I would give it a shot and it just didn't quite add up. I mean at best you could say yea its an average decent film, not bad, but i was expecting good or great even possibly. The basic plot is this, and I am sure I will hit some spoilers so be aware of that. The film starts and you aren't sure if McAvoy is a victim or in on the crime of stealing the painting, he narrates the first segment of the film and from that I was excited that this would be a good experience. So McAvoy works at an art gallery, some guys come to steal a piece of painting they get it or they think they do but McAvoy has hidden it. Problem is during the robbery he got hit in the head so he can't remember. Thus they go to a hypnotherapist - Rosario Dawson. From there everything turns into a mess, up until he goes to see the hypnotherapist the film is at 10/10 really great. It slows down when she comes in because things start to just get illogical, she goes from mild mannered therapist to wanting in with the criminals who at this point McAvoy turns out to be in with to a degree as well. The arrangement was McAvoy had a gambling debt, Cassell has some money so he paid the debt off with the understanding that McAvoy would assist with getting a very valuable painting. Now here's where it gets all spoilery, McAvoy really has no reason to keep the painting for himself so why would he be so stupid to keep it those thugs would just come after him. Well the reason is because he used to date Dawson the therapist and he became abusive, so she stopped dating him but he kept coming to sessions where she brainwashed him into forgetting her and bringing her a valuable painting. OK now none of this makes sense, why would Dawson turn out to be this vindictive and willing to involve herself in crime and it is never indicated that McAvoy is a violent sociopath who would become obsessed with his girlfriend and beat her. Thats my huge problem with this film that the character make absolutely no sense. So as a viewer I feel cheated, I feel like the filmmakers think I am too stupid to question the flow of things so they can just throw stories at me as facts and I will accept it without needing any kind of visuals to back them up. So apparently this film thought it would get points for plot twists, and while plot twists are appreciated in films you need evidence to back them up later which we do not have. There is nothing earlier in the film that would support why or how Dawson would want to involve herself in criminal activities, and there is no indication that McAvoy goes around beating women. This film demands too much in the way of suspension of disbelief. Also they pull one of the cheapest tricks that I hate, where an action scene goes down, you are all intrigued and excited and then ohhh wait never mind all fake it was all a hypnosis dream. from that point forward I couldn't really trust this movie and I was largely just annoyed by its presentation.

Danny Boyle's films are a mixed bag. On the one hand you have amazing efforts such as 28 Days later and Trainspotting and on the other you have Shallow Grave and the Beach. He's never made a bad film in my opinion and they are always interesting even if they feel a bit convoluted or gimmicky. On his best days his films can feel whimsical and transcendent like Millions and A Life Less Ordinary and than sometimes they can feel a little to Oscar baity like 127 hours and slumdog millionaire. Trance falls nicely in line with these films and towards the top I might add. At the center of the film is a ho hum concept about a somewhat successful heist and the twistiness that surrounds it. The films overall effect relies on your acceptance on the believability of Hynopsis but in the end it's a beautifully crafted ride. Stocked with truly memorable visuals and some truly wonderful cinematography. From the creative lighting and color combinations to the inspired use of shadows and reflections, it is truly something to behold. Speaking of something to behold I must give credit where it is due and although james McAvoy's * scene is impressive Rosario Dawson just blows him away in that department. Who knew she had such an amazing body it truly needs to be seen to be believed. Now all of that being said on the downside the film makes some big promises that any film would have a problem living up to. At times it comes across way more complex and intelligent that it ends up being. But like his earlier works Trance is a solid, memorable techno thriller that works as a bendy mind twister that mostly delivers. 4/5

Trance is an extremely convoluted film by director Danny Boyle, not necessarily because of the narrative structure but how the film is stylistically pronounced. There are audio-visual red herrings used to mask over the absurdity of a plot that switches from a heist movie to an internal psychodrama. However, once you overcome the deliberate sensory overload, the story and characters don't make enough sense to hold any emotional investment. Despite Boyle's experience and imprint as a deeply stylised filmmaker, Trance is a disappointing example of technique in search of effect. The film starts off with humour and an energetic heist, but the story and the character motivations are extremely convoluted, buried deep beneath the (electronic) sound and fury. Simon (James McAvoy) is an auctioneer (or is he?) who describes the changing methods of stealing art over the years. It turns out that he is actually part of a job himself and in the chaos of a raid on an auction he snatches a Goya painting. As he escapes, he is hit over the head by crime figure Franck (Vincent Cassel). Due to the blow on his noggin, Simon can't remember where he hid the painting. Franck tortures him for the location but this fails. Simon is then instructed to see Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), a hypnotist who Franck and his men believe will be able to work his mind and reveal where the painting is. Simon must lie to Elizabeth about what he is actually trying to find. Aside from the heist, there's very little here that's believable or clear. There's an early scene for example, where the thugs wire up Simon with a microphone and listen in on the sessions from their car, which doesn't ring true. One of the major problems with the film's plotting is that there is little time establishing who the characters are. The screenplay by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge is hesitant to revealing the inner life of the main players only so that they can withhold a huge plot twist at the end. It's not a gamble that pays off because the 'gotcha' moment feels more like a conventional thriller twist rather than a psychological insight into Simon's character. Failing to establish the characters properly weakens their credibility and motives and makes them seem more like plot devices existing in a vacuum instead of real people. You will be wondering why Elizabeth strives so persistently to help Simon and when those answers are revealed late in the film they're improbable and unsatisfying. The narrative twist will remind you a lot of Inception, which Trance draws heavily from in the way it plays with memories, but it is without the same clarity or the emotional investment, failing to earn its story turns from the start. Realising the generic hide and reveal structure of the narrative, Danny Boyle has employed an aesthetic resembling a music video to disorientate the viewers. I was impressed with the bravery of his formal choices in 127 Hours (2010) but it's like he's forgotten how to be calculating as a filmmaker. The stylistic choices he makes either lack purpose or overstate the theme. Camera angles are frequently tilted sideways and a neon lit colour scheme is employed to remind us tiredly of Simon's confusion. The blaring electronic soundtrack also raged so loudly and needlessly that I stuck my fingers in my ears at one point. If these superficial techniques weren't distracting enough, the film also tries its hand at melding the real and the fantastic together in overlapping scenes, so that we're not sure if we're in a dream or not. The film becomes very messy, super violent, and not much fun. I found it so confusing that it took me out of the story and I didn't care one iota about the characters. If there is a point to their story, the film is about the way that people try to suppress trauma and personal responsibility in their minds. Yet for a movie striving to be psychological, it is the personal and human weight that is notably missing.

James Mcavoy is back on form after the dismal Welcome To The Punch. He is Simon who works for a fine art auction house, where one of his duties is to whisk away to a deep vault the most valuable artwork in the event of any attempted robbery. Of course their is a robbery, masterminded by Franck played by Vincent Cassels, the only problem is he has stolen a picture frame but no canvas. Simon is hit on the head during the robbery causing amnesia and cannot remember what happened to the canvas. Franck isn't too chuffed about this so employs Elizabeth - Rosario Dawson a hypnotist to delve into Simon's mind to find where he may have secreted the artwork. For at least the first half I was gripped by the plot and characters plus Boyles camera work is spot on as always. I did however feel completely puzzled at one point when the plot seemed to zig-zag a bit too much and I began to wonder whether I had lost concentration. I wasn't being dim however because at this point one of the characters explains (in flashback) what's going on. Although an adequate enough watch this was for me a below par Boyle movie. But I suppose with a back catalogue including two of my top ten films he can be excused for not 'hitting a coconut every time'. Overall I was not disappointed to have caught the bus to view this and neither should you be. If you are a Boyle fan just lower your expectations a little.