Danny Boyle's new film "Trance" is a mystery, thriller and suspense film that stars James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson. As the film begins we are introduced to Simon (James McAvoy), a fine art auctioneer who teams up with a group of criminals, led by a man named Franck (Vincent Cassel) to steal a valuable painting worth millions of dollars. While the robbery ensues, Simon suffers a blow to the head. As he regains consciousness, he realizes he has no memory of where he hid the painting. Franck is determined to find the painting. He starts by torturing and interrogating Simon who does not remember anything about the incident. After the interrogation proves to be fruitless, Franck decides to send Simon to a hypnotherapist named Elisabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson), in hopes of finding an answer. Elisabeth begins to delve into Simon's mind and as she slowly begins to recover his lost memories she realizes there is more to her new patient than what meets the eye.
Danny Boyle's stylistic direction greatly benefits the film. The beautiful cinematography not only adds to the somewhat sterile atmosphere of the film, but also makes the film visually stunning. The sound design is shockingly effective, whenever a gun goes off or an object is broken the sounds feel extremely piercing. On a technical level the film is very well rounded and is topped off with a great electronic score.
The actors play their roles very well. The standouts have to be James McAvoy and Vincent Cassel. Even though Rosario Dawson delivers a great performance she has to be the weak link out of the three. The main issue with "Trance" is that the story seems to be walking on thin ice at times and has a few plot holes that seep through the whole story. It was very hard for me to distinguish reality from imagination while watching this film, which can both be of benefit and at the same time be rather off-putting to the viewer.
Looking back at the film after seeing it just a few hours ago it may be hard to come to a definitive conclusion on my opinion, but i will say that overall, "Trance" is a entertaining and innovative mystery that is boasted by great performances and beautiful cinematography.
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