Amnesia and hypnosis – these are two phenomena that have been the starting point for many thrillers, some of them classic successes of this film genre. ‘Trance‘ made in 2013 by Danny Boyle combines them in a sophisticated story, with several layers and narrative perspectives, which plays with the audiences and makes them constantly wonder how much of what they see on screen is true and how much are subjective experiences of the characters, and to what extent the actions of the heroes are the result of their own decisions or commands insinuated by hypnosis. I am not a professional and I have too little knowledge in the field of hypnosis to be able to confirm if and how much of what we see on the screen is scientifically correct and plausible in reality. As a film spectator, however, I can say that the scheme works well as a pretext and as an engine of an ambitious film, which captivates and provides copious surprises from the first to the last frame.
There are many interesting ideas in ‘Trance‘ even if not all are completed to the same extent. I will avoid writing anything more about the story, because it’s one of those movies where almost anything I can tell risks being a spoiler. I will only reveal that it begins as a art heist film, and continues as a psychological and erotic thriller, in which the lead characters are an expert in a large auction house (James McAvoy), a gang of robbers whose boss (Vincent Cassel) can be both violent and charming, and a beautiful psychotherapist (Rosario Dawson) who uses hypnosis as her preferred method of treatment. 100 minutes of guaranteed entertainment for intelligent thrillers enthusiasts.
I like this combination of cinematic genres, but I confess that sometimes, no matter how passionate I am about the complicated intrigues that mix reality with the subjective feelings of the heroes, I sometimes lose the logical thread that clarifies what I’ve seen so far, and from here to the loss of interest in the whole film the time interval is quite short. Luckily, in the case of ‘Trance‘, this only happens very close towards the end. Psychological games and upheavals follow one another at a fast pace, which is good for an action movie, but on the other hand they do not allow viewers to become emotionally attached to any of the heroes, because too quickly there is a change of perspective that makes us to doubt everything we have seen and felt a minute before. The actors do their job very well, but they also seem confused by the too many personality changes. Cinematography envelops us in the best tradition of ‘film noir’. ‘Trance‘, I believe squeezes out almost everything possible, but also demonstrates the limits of the genre. Slightly simplified, I think the story would have worked even better. Danny Boyle likes the memory games, playing with reality and imagination that he generously introduces in his films. This time I think the game is just a bit too complicated.