But I digress. Maybe it's for the best that Trance wasn't given the full studio marketing treatment. With a film as cerebral and layered in its storytelling, mass appeal may not be the immediate result upon its screening.
At first, Trance may excite some loyal Boyle fans as the film appears to refer back to the dark tone, creative visual style, and fast pace utilized in his early works. The audience is immediately reminded of Trainspotting and Ewan McGregor's iconic portrayal of heroin addict Renton, as Simon (James McAvoy) opens the film with a similarly narrated monologue. He describes the intricate protocol of his role as an employee during high priced fine art auctioneering, and more specifically, the security measures he must take to defend against a potential theft or heist. And much like Renton, the viewer learns that the seemingly likable Simon is no innocent bystander within his environment. The stage is then set for the inevitable smuggling of a multi-million dollar painting.
Problems arise when Simon is knocked unconscious during the robbery and subsequently suffers from clinically diagnosed amnesia. Franck (Vincent Cassel) and Simon's other accomplices don't take kindly to the convenient forgetfulness and come up with some inventive ways of retrieving the whereabouts of the painting. After extracting most of Simon's fingernails, the crew finally settles on hypnotherapy to be conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) as the best method to reveal the shrouded memory. Unfortunately for all parties involved, it is not as simple as a quick question and answer session to determine the painting's location. Each character's circumstances spiral negatively out of control amidst Dr. Lamb's motives, and Simon's guarded and fractured mind.
As with most Boyle films, the visual creativity and aesthetic are top notch. The use of color to reflect character themes is delicately orchestrated. Reflections, superimposed images, and fragmented composition work well as visual motifs for Simon's deteriorating mental state. Eccentric character behavior offer numerous instances of foreshadowing for the meticulous viewer. Boyle utilizes these techniques with ease, and ultimately crafts a tightly wound, fast paced work that challenges the viewer's ability to balance between plot truth and surreality.
Unfortunately, the film is more than just technical achievement and has some significant weaknesses. One of the hardest things to accept is the main concept of the film. I found it difficult to swallow the simplicity of character hypnosis and their subsequent manipulation throughout the story. Apparently Dr. Lamb's voice is the physical manifestation of the effects produced by Ambien and a Pink Floyd laser show. She speaks, and in seconds characters are completely mesmerized and vulnerable. But this is cinema and not real life. Perhaps most viewers can (and should?) suspend their disbelief regarding this plot convention.
The real problem deals with the intertwining story threads and timelines. Trance has been frequently compared to a less grandiose Inception and for justifiable reasons. The audience is similarly traveling deeper and deeper into a complex strata of character subconsciousness. With each respective hypnosis that Simon is guided under, another layer of his psyche is peeled back for the audience to decipher. Past vs. present, and real vs. imagined events become increasingly clouded. During the exciting and more action oriented final third of the film, the viewer may be more inclined to enjoy the ride rather than struggling with understanding the outcome.
Even when not at his best, Danny Boyle is still as strong a cinematic craftsman as they come. He is technically gifted and is more than proficient in equally handling character development, suspense, and action. However, it is how he handles the clarity (or lack thereof) of multiple perspectives and mental planes which is problematic. Similar to being in a dream, you can "see" the basic form of the story, but frustratingly just out of arm's reach you can't grab a hold of it. I doubt Trance is the film that Boyle wants to define his career, but it's still better than most of the work his colleagues are putting out.
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