Starring: James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassell
Simon (McAvoy) has the important job of protecting pieces of
art being stolen at an auction house. When attempting stop the theft of a
painting, Simon is knocked unconscious, only for the gang stealing the piece to
end up with just the frame and not the Goya painting they were intending to
steal. Upon Simon’s recovery, the gang discover that Simon has no memory of
where he put the picture, so a hypnotherapist (Dawson) attempts to unlock
Simon’s memory and, unknowingly, the location of the missing art.
Trance may, initially, be something of a heist thriller with
a slight sense of humour, but that quickly goes out of the window in favour of
a deep, dark and convoluted psychological thriller. With such an intensive and
complex story, it’s strange that the film really strikes more on a visual
level. Practically every frame of the film is extraordinarily vibrant and
engrossing with a colourful look. Rounding this off are strong performances
from James McAvoy as our hapless lead and Vincent Cassell delivering a
performance as a French master criminal, even if that’s often been Cassel’s
raison-detre in his career. Rosario Dawson surprisingly dominates the picture
mostly through the strength of her character, the film’s strongest. Ultimately,
the film does get lost in its labyrinthine ideas and has a couple intricacies
too many, which can prove frustrating. It could be better, but it’s a fascinating
film all the same.
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