"TRANCE"
Story by Joe Ahearne
Screenplay Written by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge
Directed by Danny Boyle
***1/2 (three and a half stars)
After a most sub-par opening to the cinematic year of 2013, I am hoping that I have now seen the beginning of better things to come.
Director Danny Boyle's "Trance" is a kaleidoscopically kinetic art-house thriller that splendidly merges the crime caper drama with a psychological head spinner and is filtered through Boyle's endlessly inventive, virtuoso filmmaking that nearly always puts most modern day filmmakers to shame. Granted, "Trance" does not scale the supremely emotional heights and jaw dropping power of his previous cinematic one-two punch of the Academy Awards Best Picture recipient "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008) and the existential survivalist drama "127 Hours" (2010). But do not allow that small dip discourage you as "Trance" more than delivers the goods almost on sheer creativity alone, which makes for a film-going experience that is just flat out fun as Boyle tosses out one curve ball after another and we try to keep up with him by catching them all.
"Trance" stars James McAvoy in a vibrantly muscular performance as Simon, a fine arts dealer and gambling addict who becomes involved with a gang of art thieves led by Franck (an excellent Vincent Cassell), as they all attempt to steal a painting of Goya's Witches In the Air, a piece worth millions of dollars. During the heist, Simon suffers a severe blow to the head and after waking, he is completely unable to remember exactly where he hid the painting, much to the fury of Franck and his gang. When threats and physical torture fail to reveal the location of the painting, Franck hires the services of psychotherapist Elizabeth Lamb (Roasrio Dawson) to delve deeply into Simon's psyche through hypnotherapy, a process that will hopefully produce the desired results. Certainly, this scheme is all easier said than done, as the lines between Simon's sense of reality and memories combined with the true motives and even the true identities of himself and those around him are increasingly blurred, making the discovery of the lost, stolen painting's location the very least of his worries.
In regards to the film's plot, "Trance" is indeed one of those films where this is just about as far as I am willing to divulge to you so as not to produce spoilers or ruin the the chance for you to piece together this cinematic puzzle. But I will tell you to be prepared for a barrage of hypnotherapy sessions, dream sequences, copious amounts of duplicitous behavior and ever shifting alliances, repressed memories, and sudden blasts of graphic violence and nudity. How they all fit together, I would not even dream of revealing to you so you will indeed have to go out and see this one for yourselves!
Even with all of the accolades that have been deservedly thrown his way over the years, it seems to be that while Danny Boyle is one of our most exhaustively inventive directors, he still is able to just kind of sneak past us and how thankful we should all be for that achievement. Danny Boyle is indeed a showman, as clearly evidenced by not only his complete filmography but also through his Herculean work with orchestrating this past summer's Opening Ceremony production for the London Olympics. Even so, we somehow are never quite able to see him coming and when he is working at his best, we are blindsided by his brilliance, making for the very type of movie-going surprises that are in such short supply these days.
Just take a moment to think about Danny Boyle's past work. This is the man who helmed the tightly wound British crime thriller "Shallow Grave" (1994), the drug fueled, hallucinogenic steamroller masterpiece "Trainspotting" (1996) and the deeply eerie and horrifically effective zombie film "28 Days Later" (2002). Even his missteps, like "A Life Less Ordinary" (1997) or "The Beach" (2000) are never less than fascinating to view, for Boyle is a filmmaker who has essentially not made the same film twice yet every one of them feels superbly unique to his aesthetics. With that, I really do not believe that it could possibly be questioned that Danny Boyle is a filmmaker who is clearly enthralled with the gifts and opportunities with which he has been given. His guilelessness and lack of jaded cynicism after all of these years makes for films that are invigorating to view. "Trance" is no exception as he is clearly having a blast and through his boundless enthusiasm, I was often quite swept away.
For me and my sensibilities, "Trance" is the most viscerally kinetic thriller I've seen since Director Joe Wright's outstanding "Hanna" (2011) and when Boyle and his film are working at it's very best, he even even touched the brass ring as "Trance" even reminded me, from time to time, of Director Jean-Jacques Beineix's groundbreaking French thriller "Diva" (1981), my favorite foreign film to this very day. From the opening shots, "Trance" blazes onto the screen with energy to burn and for the remainder, it moves like a rocket. The film is a veritable explosion of colors, sound and beautifully staged mirror imagery that is flat out mesmerizing to view. Boyle has employed a crack team to assist him and tremendous compliments must be delivered to Editor Jon Harris, Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and most especially, Composer Rick Smith of the band Underworld, whose pulsating, throbbing electronic score gives "Trance" its rapidly palpitating heartbeat and relentless tension. "Trance" is a gorgeous film to look at as well as listen to thanks to their combined artistry. And most certainly, James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassell are all working in peak form, each of them delivering strong, convincing and nearly breathless performances that show that they are all apt to keep pace with Boyle's energy.
Yet even with all of this praise, there was something about "Trance" that did feel a little slight, I guess. Something about it just didn't make it stick to the cinematic ribs, so to speak. I guess I wished for a bit more of that emotional resonance Boyle has accomplished so heroically with his previous two films but that being said, "127 Hours" is not necessarily a film that I would eagerly sit through again as it was so grueling an experience. "Trance," however, is indeed a film that I could easily see myself viewing time and again in the future either on DVD or when it will inevitably end up playing endlessly on cable, as I do enjoy a strong suspenseful thriller that functions as a psychological jigsaw puzzle.
But still, I return to the feeling that I had that this film just felt to be a tad lighter than air. As I watched "Trance," I couldn't help but to think of other films within the past 13 years that played with our perceptions of reality and became deeply resonant works that truly disturbed and burrowed under my skin. Christopher Nolan's "Momento" (2000) immediately sprang to mind as did Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky" (2001), David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" (2001) and definitely Darren Aronofsky's operatic nightmare "Black Swan" (2010).
And then, there was also Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" (2004) and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" (2008), two films that explored the unreliable nature of memory, identity, self-perception and consciousness itself as those film's characters were respectfully dealing with either crippling romantic heartbreak or travelling through the process of aging and dying. All of those films showcased the labyrinthine nature of the mind itself in ways that were nothing less than enthralling as well as deeply unsettling. To its credit, "Trance" does indeed inject an exploration of free will vs.destiny as one character in particular displays a certain sense of omnipotence and omnipresence but even so, it all felt to be nothing more than elaborate window dressing than anything truly insightful.
But to be completely fair, perhaps I am beginning to review what the film isn't rather than what it is. Because at its core, "Trance" is a sumptuous slice of pulpy noir expertly mounted for our viewing pleasure. No more. No less.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially when you are in the gleefully excited directorial hands of Danny Boyle.
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