Review:
"Trance"
Release Date: April 12, 2013
Rating: R Running Time: 101 minutes Fueled by sex, lies and suppressed memories, the thriller Trance finds director Danny Boyle in a playful mood after going through the emotional wringer with 127 Hours. James McAvoy stars as a fine-art auctioneer who assists Vincent Cassel’s gang to steal a Goya painting that’s worth at least £25 million. The only problem? McAvoy loses his memory when he’s hit in the head by Cassel during the heist and he can’t remember where he hid the stolen painting. Enter Rosario Dawson. Her hypnotherapist is hired by Cassel to put McAvoy under so she can retrieve information leading to the painting’s recovery. To say that nothing is what it seems in Trance is an understatement. One twist is quickly followed by another, with Boyle gleefully refusing to disclose what really happened before, during, and after the heist until the very last minute. Boyle also has fun pitting McAvoy, Cassel, and Dawson against each other in a series of head games that are cunningly designed to reveal their true selves. The strikingly assured Dawson is the glue that holds Trance together. She quietly attempts to assume control of Trance by using her brains and her beauty to get the increasingly agitated McAvoy and the supremely calm and collected Cassel to do her bidding. That’s not to say Dawson holds all the cards. Slowly but surely, Trance delightfully unfolds as a master class in manipulation conducted both by the enigmatic thieves who covet the painting and the director who loves to crawl around inside the criminal mind. Robert Sims Aired: April 12, 2013 Web site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/trance/ |
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