Em Transe

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.

This has got to be the most confusing film I have ever seen, and yes, I have seen Inception. I only came across this film because it starred James McAvoy, it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go.

The film starts off straight in the action and is one of them films where you are completely hooked from the start to the finish, even though you're not completely sure what is going on. It got to the point where I didn't know if certain scenes were the present day or flashbacks, truths or lies, I just didn't know, but my God it was gripping. There was also some pretty grim scenes in this film.

In the end it did make more sense but you really have to think about it. I would highly recommend this film to anyone, although I think it may take more than one viewing to really appreciate how good this is.

8/10

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.

Danny Boyle, a renowned director of stage and screen, not to mention a writer, directed the 2014 "Trance" -- and from a brief look at the reviews, people either loved it or hated it.

I hated it.

I'm always fascinated by films about art heists, but this time, I felt let down. That's not to take away from the originality of the story, but for me, it became too convoluted.

In London, an auctioneer, Simon Newton (James McAvoy), helps a gang, headed by a man named Franck, to steal a valuable painting at the auction house. Simon gets into a car accident and claims not to remember where he hid the painting. The gang sends him to a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson), under an assumed name, and record him -- he doesn't say he's looking for this painting, obviously, since it's all over the news, so he says he's looking for his keys.

The hypnotherapist turns out to be quite a character, and one can't really tell for a time if she's in league with the gang or trying to help Simon, as she plays both sides. It all gets kind of crazy from there, with murders, sex, car chases and hypnosis.

I love the plot, and normally, I like a complicated, involved story, but I admit that after a while, I gave up and didn't know what was happening. It reminded me a tiny bit of Memento, but that film was a lot more straightforward. This movie started out suspense and toward the end turned into a crazy horror movie.

The acting was good, with perhaps the exception of Rosario Dawson. First of all, she had an impossible role. Secondly, I am absolutely certain that in some scenes she didn't know what her attitude was supposed to be. It's not too much of a stretch that these actors lost their way in the script as well. I can't imagine anyone having to sit down and read it.

I think Danny Boyle is one of those people who, when he's good, he's fabulous, and when he's less than that, he's confusing.

The first 40 minutes, I was excited & impressed. I like James McAvoy, I think he's a really good & charismatic actor. And Vincent Cassel, in my opinion, always delivers. The movie pumps you up with an intriguing storyline, flashy & artsy camera shots & angles, thrilling scenes backed up with a really good musical score. Then enter Rosario Dawson. It has been a steady downward spiral from that point on. No, it's not because of her, although I thought she looked a bit tired 90 % of the film. It's the plot and the shameful use of hypnotherapy as the driving force of the whole movie. Hypnotherapy as the structure of the movie? That makes the plot shaky at best. The moment Rosario inserted herself in the scheme I found myself shaking my head more and more.

Trance almost had everything that makes a movie work. Good cast, great direction, interesting cameraworks, good editing, stylish neo-noir execution, and really great music. Unfortunately, like poor Tin Man without the heart and The Lion without courage, this one has a weak script which essentially takes away the soul of the movie. It's a classic case of style-over-substance, easily disguised as a mind-bending intellectual movie with the use of "is this real?" sequences, change of perspective, and thrill rides, that can masterfully dupe the audience into thinking that they're watching Leo with a Spotless Mind.

Danny Boyle has style, that's for sure, but he should have given equal attention to the plot as he did to his camera shots & artsy vibe of the whole film. It's not at all bad, the music and style is enough reason to enjoy this movie and send you in a 100-minute trance-like state, but after the credits roll, like a snap of a finger, you wake up after that trippy ride, shake your head, look around, and mutter, "Seriously?"