Trance [Blu-ray]

Unlike Mullholland Drive or Momento, there is a ultimately only a metaphorical logic here to rely on - at least most certainly in the conclusion with Vincent Cassel's character. If the painting is where it is, certain events must have taken place, yet there is this dream awakening of this same real character in his swimming pool. I'll forgive the film that, if for no other reason the last 60 seconds of the film are unexpected and brilliant. Regarding a certain dichotomy here of 'non-linear logic' versus creative metaphor, this is Dylanesque (as in "Under the Red Sky"); where disparate points of view are made with no connectivity; perhaps an impressionist painting is more what it is...Vincent Cassel is awesome; upping his presence from Black Swan and too small a role in the CG Jung movie. He portrays a bad-guy who does what he has to - and not with a heart-of-gold, but with a growing admiration for Dawson's character, which meets its ultimate test at the end of the movie. James McAvoy is equally brilliant, totally drawing you into what you think he is, till a darker side begins to be shown in a really unique manner. McAvoy plays his character with such boyish appeal in the first ten minutes that you VERY QUICKLY find yourself lost and glued in an GREAT opening 15 minutes and in the "spell" of a master story-teller. McAvoy's reaction when - under hypnosis - he finds himself seeing all the stolen paintings brought tears to this viewer, especially as he cries out to see the masterpiece by Rembrandt. Great stuff. Rosario Dawson is fantastic and proves you dont have to create the usual Hollywood behaviors to accomplish a truly sexy, mysterious and intelligent female character.The twists and turns are quick, intelligent and creative; the cinematography and direction of one scene after another were in many cases so well thought-out; even to a small part of the opening, when the thieves are about to see what they got, the scene opens in blur, and quickly sharpens. These kind of metaphors are delightfully mixed in with dream symbolisms and a creative juice that (with the exception of a rape-scene), never sold-out for the quick and easy solution; opting for a rather intriguing climax. While the power of hypnotism may be debated, the central theme of facing oneself; ie. not 'forgetting, repressing, etc' is as new as HS Sullivan 1930's bringing schizophrenics into recovery through 'moments of illumination' or expressed 2000 years ago with "The Truth Shall Set You Free." The ending drives this home perfectly in a more personal way.BIG SPOILER ALERT: Three members of the group silently agree to a rape of the therapist. This act was very surprising as there is absolutely no foreshadowing that these characters, who are about to retrieve a $40,000,000 painting which will make them all millionaires, would nonchalantly agree to rape the woman most responsible for helping them get the painting. It strikes me as a last minute add-on by the movie-makers. They could have offered foreshadowing of the characters lusting after her, with additional jealousy as Cassel's character has sex with her - which would have been useful. They regard the rape with the same aplomb they would ordering a pizza. This did not seem real at all. They needed a way for these characters to be killed, and the movie-makers took an easy way out, looking amateurish in the process.A couple of technical blunders also annoyed me. Director Danny Boyle is of an age of people who dont readily adapt their thinking to the computer age. I have a degree in Info Technology but most high-school kids could school this very creative Director in these matters here: When the robbery was going on, one hood smashes the monitors in the Hi-Tech/Information Services Security Room. Since the goal of the hood is to apparently somehow disconnect / destroy their security camera apparatus, smashing monitors certainly wont destroy the data one bit, nor will bashing in a single CPU (as he does), as even your local drugstore with the sign saying "Video Surveillance" has a redundant off-site connection that is duplicating the digital feed in real-time. A better real-world solution would've been using an electro-magnetic device that will totally zap the hard drive after previously interrupting the off-site backup system; thereby making data recovery impossible; and would have made both the art thieves and the movie-makers appear intelligent rather than ignorant, lazy or arrogant in this regard.I cant help but think Im NOT THE ONLY ONE - during production - who recognized how silly that is, and perhaps the Director is just too aloof to take suggestions? A shoot the messenger kinda guy? Take for example the shotgun Cassel's character carries: This is ridiculous: a full-length solid stock!?! A folding "paratrooper" (or pistol-grip) stock would take an additional 12-16 inches off its length and would have allowed the character to do the intelligent thing: put the shotgun in the same bag the art satchel is placed in. Then you would have avoided the viewer being forced to believe he's carrying a full-length shotgun down a London Street hiding it while walking.It kind of reminded me of Guy Richie in "Snatch;" where, after directing a great scene beautifully showing the gangster with his .50 cal Desert Eagle compared to his opponents' "Replicas," Richie goes out of his way to show he's never shot a gun in his life, by having 'Bullet-tooth Tony" shoot this monster weapon using the ghetto twisted-one-hand style, which amusingly guarantees you'll miss your target and sprain your wrist in the attempt. I have personally shot that weapon and know the kick it has. As someone who's been shooting for 50 years, it's laughably amateurish to shoot any handgun in that ghetto manner, no matter how "cool" it may look to some; unless you're a movie director.

The beginning of this film (what you see in the extended preview) is spectacular: The cinematography, the pace--everything. I was hooked, and rented the film. What a let down. If I can use that expression, since there was little “down.” Just one audio-visual assault after another. All made almost unwatchable due to the fact that none of the characters proves likable—so who cares what happens to them? We began Trance believing that the lead character will be some kind of a hero, but he proves the worst of the worst. As a person, he is a gambling addict and an abusive boyfriend. As a thief, he has absolutely no honor and an almost maniacal desire to destroy everyone around him in the most vicious possible way. The hypnotist as a woman-wronged-getting-revenge, well, if she can make everything all right with the acquisition of a painting, that really says it all. The subject of the painting--witches --is meaningful. If this film was for real, hypnotists would be ruling the world.This film really could have been so much more than it is. Boyle is proving that he loves blind, senseless violence. Which generally seems to be a growing trend in Film; all these huge, visually gorgeous, movies with what really should be called “torture” scenes—where the level of sheer brutality really isn’t warranted. Think of the bathroom scene in Red Lights. After you’ve knocked a guy down once, twice, twenty times—do you need to completely bash his brains in? Or set him on fire? The beginning of Trance was notable in showing how much can happen from just one sharp blow to the head. The operating room scene really showed the impact of trauma on the human body. So, why do we need all this unrelenting pummeling? No one can survive all that and keep walking; and yet, we have all these films where people are smashed to bits and still get up, keep walking and even “save the day.” Is this sort of thing really what makes for great cinema? One might argue that this sort of violence raises the audience’s stake in the outcome, as it certainly seems to create a desire for it to all end—for relief.Some have said that Boyle was going for an Inception effect, but Nolan achieved a grandeur with his film that Boyle’s movie never touches. With Inception, Nolan generated several character arcs that genuinely move the viewer. There is a sense of a nobler purpose at play. We love the characters despite their flaws, and they are able to surf the waves of violence because Inception has heart. Trance has cujones, sure, but very little heart. With Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle struck a much better balance of darkness and light and gave us a character to cheer for. There are flickers in Trance. The choice of centering this film around works of Art was brilliant and the repeated reference to Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee with the artist’s cameo appearance, was a deft touch—you can feel a lot of play with that. Also, the hypnotic trance scenes are surrealistically intriguing fun. But there is very little fun in the characters, who one by one prove to be rotten at the core. I mean, come on, Boyle, give us somebody to root for. And don’t expect us to forgive you if you don’t, just because everything looks amazing and there’s a nice soundtrack.By the end of this film, and I only kept watching to see how Boyle would pull this maelstrom to conclusion, I didn’t like anyone and I really didn’t care what happened to any of them. Except maybe Franck. Though he had seemed like such a bastard at the film’s commencement, he was coming from behind in the homestretch. Give that character another film, who knows, he might prove a hero.

This DVD had a reasonable storyline, but I found it hard to watch and at times thought about aborting but in the end I am glad I persevered.

A largely ignored UK-based caper/psychological thriller from 2013. Not exactly deep and meaningful but will keep you on the edge of your seat for a couple of hours. Not necessarily recommended for the squeamish. Well written, well performed and stylishly directed.

Brilliant thriller. James McAvoy is fantastic as usual. A very clever whodunnit with a brilliant twist.

Danny Boyle delivers yet again with a story of hypnosis, action and double-crossing that shows most other movie-makers that he is one of the worlds best directors.From the opening action to the closing scene revelation, I was gripped by this. I employee you to watch Trance and without spoiling the story, you will have a new Top 5 film

Not a bad film although not as good as trainspotting or 28 days later etc.