Mind games supreme

Film review: Trance

MANILA, Philippines - You have to hand it to director Danny Boyle! Don’t even think Slumdog, where he had a wonderful story to feed off (the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup). In 127 Days, he made a man trapped under a boulder for two hours of screen-time actually exciting and gripping. And now, with Trance, he turns a tenuous storyline (art world heist becomes psychological thriller, thanks to hypno-therapy) a visual feast, and highly-charged cinematic experience.

Simon (James McAvoy) works at an art auction house and gets involved with an art heist masterminded by Franck (the wonderful Vincent Cassel). When a blow to the head has Simon forgetting where he placed the Goya painting, he handpicks hypno-therapist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to put him under a trance and dredge up memories that lie dormant in his psyche. With twists and turns to the max, red herrings strewn along the film’s path, we are constantly left unsure of what is truth, and what is deception and dissembling on the part of all members of our triumvirate. Tables are turned with such frequency, we’re left hoping for some semblance of gravity. Here is Boyle at his best, giving us how individuals cope with extraordinary circumstances, while providing dizzying camerawork that has a visual and kinetic energy that’s unparalleled among most of the directors working in the industry. London has not been more excitingly shot, and that may be in part to Boyle’s deep involvement with the Olympics of last year.

While some critics have called the film Boyle’s Inception-like film foray, I was more reminded of early Christopher Nolan, Memento, and the surreal aspects of David Lynch’s movie-making — with a dash of Guy Ritchie’s visceral approach. More than Slumdog or 127 Days, this film harks back to Boyle’s earlier film output, like Shallow Grave.

Ultimately, how one perceives hypnosis as therapy will make or break the film for the viewer in terms of plausibility. Convoluted by design, if the film’s premise will leave you expecting more, one can still enjoy the procession of energetic images, and Boyle’s uncanny knack of finding the right music to drive his scenes home. A true master at work, I just wish the story actually had more weight to hang on. I watched this with my eldest son/film buff Quintin, and he says he enjoyed this more than the blockbusters that opened this week, i.e. Tony Stark’s third.