Review: ‘Trance’

The fractured narrative style of Danny Boyle’s latest is reminiscent of Inception and Memento.  

The film opens with art auctioneer Simon explaining the procedure for dealing with a potential theft.  It’s no surprise then, when an actual robbery takes place and a valuable Goya is stolen. During the robbery Simon gets a knock to the head and when he awakes, he’s lost his memory.

It becomes clear that Simon was involved in the robbery – he has a chronic gambling addiction – and the amnesia has wiped away his memory of where the painting has been stashed. Franck, the bad guy who expected to benefit from the theft, tortures Simon, but this does nothing to jog his memory. So they turn to hypnotism.

From here the narrative fractures and it becomes increasing difficult to figure out what’s real and what is a hypnosis-induced hallucination. By the end of this occasionally brutal roller-coaster ride, it’s quite possible you’ll have no idea who’s good, who’s bad or who you’re supposed to care about.

Essentially this is a film noir, but film noir for a new century – saturated in colour and filled with stark, modern buildings. The relentless techno soundtrack became overkill very quickly, but that’s a small criticism to make of a film that has the viewer guessing all the way to the final moments. Which means viewers will be sitting on the edge of their seats until the conclusion finally reveals what’s happening and who we should trust… or not.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen too many films, but I figured out the twist in this one well before the end. But others I watched it with had no idea what was coming. If you like films that screw with your mind, this one is definitely for you. If you prefer a more straightforward narrative, perhaps give it a miss. Personally, while I didn’t love it, I certainly enjoyed the fast pace and unpredictability of the storytelling, even if the big reveal didn’t hold any surprises for me.

6.5/10

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