Review:
Trance is a
stylishly designed psychological thriller that succeeds on its great twists.
The film is about Simon, an art auctioneer who approaches a group of criminal
partners offering to help them steal a valuable painting in exchange for paying
off his gambling debts. During the heist, Simon is hit on the head and cannot
remember where he stashed the painting. The leader of the group, Franck,
decides to take Simon to a hypnotherapist, Elizabeth, to help him remember –
however, her work starts to bring up old repressed memories blurring the line
between what is real.
The first thing that stands out
about Trance is the ‘hip’ energetic style that director Danny
Boyle gives the film – from the thumping score and slick camera
work/editing to the modern production design. Boyle’s work has always had a
very kinetic and hypnotic feel, but here he takes it a step further. The whole
narrative to some extent relies on the film’s style, which creates the
atmosphere for the audience to fully experience Simon’s psychological
transformation.
This transformation has a clear
arc across the film’s three acts. When Simon first appears in act one, he is
the film’s likable protagonist, but that starts to change as the film
progresses – and it is this transition that makes the film kind of brilliant
(along with the third act in general). The first act, with its plucky voiceover
narration, feels a bit like Boyle’s Trainspotting
– Simon inviting the viewer into his world, and explaining how everything
works. The second act, however, very much ushers in a very different film, Boyle
never wanting to retread the same narrative territory.
With the second act, Boyle plays
with the viewer – persistently questioning the motivations of each of the three
main characters (Simon, Franck, and Elizabeth), never quite giving an
indication who can be trusted and who cannot. This both works in the film’s
favor and does not.
The second act comes very close
to losing its audience as it jumps around presenting cases in favor of and
against each character while also outlining multiple couplings (and possible
betrayals) – it is easy to get lost in all the shifting. This all results in a
very muddled narrative with no clear protagonist (as Simon seems to be someone
different than who was first introduced to the audience), and the forward
momentum seems to almost come to a complete halt, mangled in the confusion of an
array of twists and reverses (diminishing much of the good will a strong first
act built up).
But, the second act also
wonderfully sets up the third act (though, it almost ruins the film in the
process). It plants the seed of doubt for the audience in Simon, leaving them
open to embracing either Franck or Elizabeth should the narrative turn to them,
while still keeping Simon as a man put upon by outside forces (allowing him to
return as the protagonist at any moment, which is something Boyle constantly
teases) – thus all three characters enter the third act as both protagonist and
antagonist (the audience truly does not know how it will all end – and is thus
completely in the hands of the film’s narrative). The psychological jumbling
also leaves the audience open to accept whatever explanation is given (the
reveal), because they have seen (and accepted) what hypnosis has done and can
do to the characters in act two (they believe in the world of the film – which for
a film like this, is very important for it to work).
The third act is quite genius in
its reveal, the way Boyle brings everything back together and ramps the pacing
back up. Everything is different, and yet makes sense (which is exactly what
you want from a film built on a twist). It is too bad that the second act is
structured so poorly, because otherwise this might be a great film.
Trance is very stylish and
aesthetically compelling, well-acted, and has one of the best twist endings in
recent memory. But, all that said, the pacing of the second act brings it all
down (almost completely). What is left is a film that is fantastic at the
beginning and at the end, but with a middle that is over long and too chaotic
and tedious.
Technical,
aesthetic & acting achievements: Danny Boyle again showcases his
brilliance as a visual and aesthetically modern filmmaker with Trance. Visually,
everything in the film works together creating an aesthetic of illusion,
playing into the narrative of hypnosis altering memories. From an aesthetics standpoint,
it is a fun piece of art.
Much like Boyle’s past work, this
film also has an electronic music infused score, this time from Rick Smith (a member of the
group Underworld, whom are frequent musical collaborators with Boyle). The score
perfectly melds with the tone and aesthetic of the film. Anthony
Dod Mantle’s cinematography is also excellent, particularly in his
aggressive colorful lighting, which, like the other collaborative technical aspects,
very much matches the psychological atmosphere of the film. However, Mark
Tildesley’s production design is a notch above the rest. The design work
and architecture of the film sets and the locations used are phenomenal (especially
given Boyle’s style for the film). It is the most aesthetically interesting
design work I have seen so far this year in any film (it almost as a sci-fi
feel). Boyle has a great collaborative relationship with his team, which can be
seen in their overall great work.
Even with the gleam of Trance’s
aesthetics and the great feeling it gives the viewer when everything is
revealed and it all comes together, the film is also a bit of a character piece
at its core, and thus is dependent on strong performances, which it has. Tuppence Middleton and especially
Danny Sapani are good in
small supporting roles. Rosario
Dawson, playing Elizabeth, is asked to be very steady throughout the film,
and yet she must also make the audience believe that both Franck and Simon are
capable of being the good guy or bad guy in different moments. She does this
very well. Vincent Cassel is
quite good as Franck. He is ruthless yet charismatic and charming. James McAvoy’s Simon feels
like a typical Boyle protagonist (along the same lines as those played by Ewan McGregor), but he
also brings such a great inner darkness to Simon, who is outwardly delightful.
Summary
& score: Trance is a good twist-driven thriller, but only because it
ends well. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment