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How entertaining? ★★★★☆
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 23 March 2013
This article is a review of TRANCE. |
“I must remember never to forget you’re a criminal,” Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson)
Riding high off UK national euphoria from the Olympics opening ceremony, and in particular his James Bond short HAPPY & GLORIOUS, director Danny Boyle could make anything and it would be hotly anticipated by an arduous country. Boyle operates in the sphere of energetic cinema – kinetic camerawork and frenetic narrative pacing. From SHALLOW GRAVE and TRAINSPOTTING to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and 127 HOURS, he doesn’t allow his audience to rest. And TRANCE is no different. Boyle’s film law (as opposed to physicist Robert Boyle) is one of taking an already extreme situation, and adding pressure, the more satisfying the result relating to the quality of the pressure. Stealing, getting high, kick-starting the sun, cutting off your arm. Not a scientific rule then, as the artistic results have been mixed.
Riding high off UK national euphoria from the Olympics opening ceremony, and in particular his James Bond short HAPPY & GLORIOUS, director Danny Boyle could make anything and it would be hotly anticipated by an arduous country. Boyle operates in the sphere of energetic cinema – kinetic camerawork and frenetic narrative pacing. From SHALLOW GRAVE and TRAINSPOTTING to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and 127 HOURS, he doesn’t allow his audience to rest. And TRANCE is no different. Boyle’s film law (as opposed to physicist Robert Boyle) is one of taking an already extreme situation, and adding pressure, the more satisfying the result relating to the quality of the pressure. Stealing, getting high, kick-starting the sun, cutting off your arm. Not a scientific rule then, as the artistic results have been mixed.
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TRANCE is in the same arena as INSOMNIA and INCEPTION, though less ambitious, even though going down the Christopher Nolan route of making a thriller out of the reliability of the mind. It is however, much fun, and the director doesn’t drop the ball in the last third like he has done too many times (MILLIONS, 28 DAYS LATER, SUNSHINE.)
James McAvoy’s Simon talks to the audience at the outset, giving us a quick intro into his world of auctioneering, and the difficulty of steeling valuable works of art. Simon doesn’t address us again. Immediately after, he helps a gang steal a Goya worth £27 million, to a thumping soundtrack, and then proceeds to double-cross the thieves’ leader Franck (Vincent Cassel). For that chutzpah, Simon receives a shotgun butt to the head. Once out of hospital, Franck’s cohorts torture him until they realise Simon is suffering from amnesia, and enlist the help of a psychiatrist specialising in hypnotherapy, Dr Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson).
Trust. That’s what TRANCE is all about. Elizabeth is clearly bright and no nonsense, and a potential formidable opponent. The characters dance around each other with so much money at stake, and the potential for betrayal is high – Simon has already demoed that. Also, part of the pleasure is trying to second-guess the creative team. Who should we trust and how much? The movie pulls us along, and you might attempt to dig in your heels to make sure you’ve wrung all the clues out of a scene.
Ultimately, there is little of substance, and the plot is playful rather than trying to tie you in knots. When you get off the ride you might scratch your head as to how they managed to entertain you so much.
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