Trance - 2013 Danny Boyle

Icarus Wings

Trailer has been released -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4_bdS3_gr0

Follows the story of a thief who steals a famous art piece and attracts the unwanted attention of a ruthless gangster. When the thief is unable to locate the painting after suffering memory loss, the gangster recruits a hynotherapist to unlock the memories hidden in the thief's mind.

Seems alright from the trailer and good casting in Cassel, McAvoy and Dawson. It'll be out in March. With Boyle in the director's seat, hopefully it'll be something special!

Corholio

If Boyle gets nothing else out of directing this film he'll be fine.

He's now going out with Rosario Dawson :eek:

The bastard.

JP Liz V1

I thought Michael Fassbender was going to be in this

Outkast_IRE

i was watching James McAvoy on the Graham Norton show the other night talking about this film .

The idea seems good and interesting, the cast seems very solid.
I hope he pulls it off. As its the sort of film material that could very easily be mediocre.

expectationlost

inception crossed with spotless mind

tupac_healy

I like Boyle's film making style, especially enjoyed Sunshine, his stuff is not the usual hollywood crap...


High hopes for this, trailer looks good!

Icarus Wings

Nice optical illusion-based poster has been released -

Captain Beyond

This is how you do a trailer!

Bad Santa

Captain Beyond wrote: »

This is how you do a trailer!

Totally disagree and wish I hadn't watched it - gives far too much away.

Particularly the reveal of what is obviously a pivotal turning point at the 52 secs mark.

I will be watching it now knowing that that is to be revealed.

bnt

There's another trailer out: this one is R-rated, and I think it's earned by a very disturbing shot at the end. Not for the squeamish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mj1d0U4AOg

grames_bond

Saw this on monday (thank you cineworld unlimited screening) and absolutely loved it!

The start I was thinking "hmmm this is enjoyable but the plot is a little thin" then ....let's just say sh!t happens over and over again and I was just blown away! I am looking forward to seeing it again!

WatchWolf

First act - A very suave and slick thriller. Greatly engaging. Enjoyed it throughly.

Second & Third act - A silly, over-the-top cringefest. Disappointing, to say the least.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

grames_bond wrote: »

Saw this on monday (thank you cineworld unlimited screening) and absolutely loved it!

The start I was thinking "hmmm this is enjoyable but the plot is a little thin" then ....let's just say sh!t happens over and over again and I was just blown away! I am looking forward to seeing it again!

I was a little disappointed in the first 20 minutes too, then my disappointment turned to mild intrigue then POW!!! Spectacular movie, stunning cinematography and really keeps twisting and turning til the end. Loved it

tupac_healy

WatchWolf wrote: »

First act - A very suave and slick thriller. Greatly engaging. Enjoyed it throughly.

Second & Third act - A silly, over-the-top cringefest. Disappointing, to say the least.

Milana Moldy Varnish wrote: »

I was a little disappointed in the first 20 minutes too, then my disappointment turned to mild intrigue then POW!!! Spectacular movie, stunning cinematography and really keeps twisting and turning til the end. Loved it

Hmmmmm


I'll be seeing it regardless

Mike Litoris

I cannot stand James McAvoy and this looks really good. Arrrrgghhh:mad:

pixelburp

I dunno, I thought this was great; a slick, psychological thriller with a spring in its step, and better enjoyed if you go in relatively cold (I saw the first trailer, but kept myself ignorant on the advice of others); whilst I can understand some might have found its twists overly melodramatic if taken at face value, I thought it worked against the tone & atmosphere of the film, which was fairly unhinged and unbalanced from the start.

Also, like with most decent twist-based drama, the clues were there from the start; such as Dawson & McAvoys characters first meeting in the reception of her clinic. I also liked how it subverted the role of Vincent Cassel; just as I was grumbling about him playing yet another snarling villain, his character slowly morphed into the victim & arguably became the object of audience sympathy.

One complaint might be that it reminded me a little too much of Memento; the main character, suffering from memory troubles & initially portrayed as the good-guy, is slowly revealed to be a monster all along.

If nothing else it's a great looking film, with some great visual flourishes (not to mention occasional graphic violence & nudity), but then Boyles worksis nearly always great to look at; what's doubly amazing is that he made this whilst also preparing the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Banjaxed82

What the hell just happened?

Trance reminded me of Danny Boyle's implosion in the final act of 'Sunshine', except he did it for the whole movie here.

Unfortunately for Boyle he sets an expectation level, and he missed by a mile. It was just so....blah. Totally underwhelmed.

What's great about Boyle though is you know it's only a matter of time before he pulls off another dinger.

B.A._Baracus

Corholio wrote: »

If Boyle gets nothing else out of directing this film he'll be fine.

He's now going out with Rosario Dawson :eek:

The bastard.

Seems he broke up with her now.
I call fake hollywood dating :pac:

Mike Litoris

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

What the hell just happened?

Trance reminded me of Danny Boyle's implosion in the final act of 'Sunshine', except he did it for the whole movie here.

Unfortunately for Boyle he sets an expectation level, and he missed by a mile. It was just so....blah. Totally underwhelmed.

What's great about Boyle though is you know it's only a matter of time before he pulls off another dinger.

Agreed. Looking past McAvoy who didn't suit the role imo I thought the film didn't flow and the numerous crazy twists felt bolted on...maybe when the clever ideas dried up.

paulieeye

Ok i need to get some things straight in my head about this...

First off..

Were Franck and Elizabeth working together before the robbery?

My thinking here is that Franck came up with the idea of the hypnotherapy and handed Simon the list of therapists to choose from.
How else would Franck come up with this idea if he was not working with Elizabeth? Also Franck and Elizabeth seem very close at the end, did this relationship just build after the robbery? Enough of a relationship for Elizabeth to risk her life and go back and save Franck even tho she had the painting? And of course the video she sends franck at the end would imply they were very close.

Or was Francks idea of the hypnotherapy a massive coincidence? And the person who made simon do it in the first place just happened to be the same type of person he needs to remember??

Ta mé confusion agam ar mo ceann madra.

e_e

Answer to the above: The film is just an absolute mess. Making up its own rules as it goes on and not giving the viewer any reason to be engaged.

Would have enjoyed this as an empty exercise in style but the ugly and needless violence just put me off. A real waste.

paulieeye

e_e wrote: »

Answer to the above: The film is just an absolute mess. Making up its own rules as it goes on and not giving the viewer any reason to be engaged.

Would have enjoyed this as an empty exercise in style but the ugly and needless violence just put me off. A real waste.

I wasnt too concerned with the violence myself, i'd imagine these types of people can get violent. But was really giving boyle the benefit of the doubt in terms of the questions i was said above...surely I'm missing something! If not then yeah, there are some serious plot holes.

Saw it this evening and rather enjoyed it. It's certainly one of those films that thinks it's far cleverer than it actually is but for some throw away Monday night viewing it was perfect. Aesthetically it's beautiful with some of the more inspired and unique visuals on screen in a long time though it pales in comparison to the wonders of Spring Breakers.

The biggest problem with Trance is as I've already stated, it's a film that believes itself to be far smarter than it actually is. By asking us to put our faith in an untrust worthy narrator we are constantly second guessing everything we see, which is perhaps the feel that Boyle and his screenwriters were going for but entire scenes exist solely to misdirect the viewer and by the three quarter way mark it's almost impossible to tell what was real and was simply a manufactured memory. The heist itself is a blistering fast paced, pulse pounding opening ten minutes that the rest of the film never comes close to matching. Once we are introduced to Elizabeth the film grinds to a halt and all momentum is lost as the straightforward narrative is thrown away in favor of a nonlinear narrative that repeatedly tries to hoodwink the audience. Film such as Memento tried a similar technique but whereas there it was fascinatingly baffling, here at the best of times it just feels like it's been done simply to add layers to a story that is simply rather dull and straight forward.

Taken for what it is, throw away rubbish Trance isn't half bad. It's gorgeous to look at, the cast are obviously having a blast and there's enough brutal violence and nudity to ensure that it never gets boring. Just don't think I'm about it after as the whole thing falls apart.


I must check out the made for TV original, I'm pretty certain that I saw it when it aired but that would have been a decade or so again.

I'm assuming that McAvoy owns shares in the nightclub where much of the film takes place as I'm almost certain that it's the same club he and Marc Strong shot up a few weeks ago in Welcome to the Punch.

Immolation

I caught this last night & I really loved it.
Yes it did get a bit messy near the end but rather than trying to figure out reality vs suggestion I just went with the madness that was thrown at the screen.

The

Angel Heart

twist was very well done & unexpected.
Boyles flourishes really add to this, the overhead organic shots of the spaghetti junctions at night were marvellous.

Overall, 7.5/10

event

Not one of ye have mentioned

rosario dawson in the nip :pac:

was an alright film, bit of a mess

paulieeye

paulieeye wrote: »

Were Franck and Elizabeth working together before the robbery?

My thinking here is that Franck came up with the idea of the hypnotherapy and handed Simon the list of therapists to choose from.
How else would Franck come up with this idea if he was not working with Elizabeth? Also Franck and Elizabeth seem very close at the end, did this relationship just build after the robbery? Enough of a relationship for Elizabeth to risk her life and go back and save Franck even tho she had the painting? And of course the video she sends franck at the end would imply they were very close.

Or was Francks idea of the hypnotherapy a massive coincidence? And the person who made simon do it in the first place just happened to be the same type of person he needs to help him remember??

so does anyone have an idea re what I asked above??

Potential-Monke

paulieeye wrote: »

so does anyone have an idea re what I asked above??

Just after watching it, and i reckon that

Elizabeth had also hypnotised Franc to set up the job in the first place. I never fully got the reason why she wanted the painting in the first place, possibly as a memento to her relationship with Simon, and she would have got an interest in art because of him. Or maybe just the allure of owning a painting worth $25 million. I don't know.

Anyway, from a non-critic point of view, i thought it was a fantastic film. Some people may see whats coming, or get distracted by the style, etc, but i thought it was a fantastic breath of fresh air to surprise the audience with twists which are seemingly harder for writers to do these days, considering nearly every twist or surprise has been done at this stage.

I'd love to see a voice-over version of this film from Boyles perspective so he can explain what's happening. The first time i've ever wanted it, but i would watch it.

Dempsey

Elizabeth wanted compensation for an abusive relationship with Simon. She turned him from an abusive person back into a gambling addict so that he'd steal a painting for her.

Who's idea was it to use a hypnotherapist to help Simon remember? I find it very hard to believe that a criminal gang would agree to let her get as much information as she did.

Also find it hard to believe that the police wouldnt have been able to track Simon's movements just after the robbery. How many thousand cctv cameras are in London alone?

I dont think the film will hold up well to repeat viewings tbh

The music was very good and as was some of the cinematography.