Trance

Boyle is similar to Nolan and Tarantino in that every film is original, yet he still maintains some of his traditional directing finesse. He attacks the audience with opulent minimalist visuals as well as dense psychology. Trance has excellent visual aesthetics, light manipulation, and a contemporary feeling. It captivates with a strong screenplay and the fact that despite the several script spirals and twists towards the end, the film never gets tangled. The plot is clear, well-explained, and makes perfect sense. At the same time, the theme of hypnosis is presented complex enough to fascinate and immerse the viewer, but also concisely enough to not bore someone who doesn't understand it and won’t make any sense to a layman. (01/18/2014)

A film that has an embellished but far-fetched plot. It was interesting, the actors were good, we never got sick of them even though there were only a few of them that we kept switching between; still, it somehow just couldn't hold my attention the whole time. The jumping from hypnosis to the real world and back is supposed to be interesting, the viewer is supposed to wonder what’s real and what’s not, yet I didn't see it that way. Instead it gave me a rather tired impression, which I only woke up from towards the end when the shooting started. Even though I wrote that the final payoff was excessive, it still fails to impress with a proper wow effect if the viewer has seen a few similar films. You can see through the smoke effects. But if Boyle wanted the viewer to feel sympathy for a man who gets a bundle at the end, he succeeded. A mediocre film. (02/28/2017)

An overcooked start. There is a voiceover, an unreliable narrator, an attractive plot, and expensive art. After twenty minutes, only a hint of the original idea remains, which surprisingly, even by Danny Boyle's standards, fails to reach a sufficiently high level with its piercing visual and thunderous musical accompaniment. I am all for surprising twists or the denial of clichés through lively passion. However, all of this must not happen at the expense of the viewer's engagement. (12/22/2015)

Danny Boyle is a director whose work cannot be overlooked. He handles the craft perfectly, he is creative and playful, and able to surprise us with technical tricks and film effects. Whether he works in any genre, he can create an impressive spectacle and his directing skills often overshadow weak screenplay foundations and outweigh banal subject matter. Trance is, at first glance, a crime film about a heist that, after the initial success, gets stuck and turns into a nightmare for its participants. The heist was successful, but the question remained: where is the loot, who is trying to blind everyone, who is being manipulated by whom, and who is pulling the strings? Although I understood that Boyle was primarily playing with me as a viewer, I easily engaged in the game and I can say for myself that I enjoyed it probably more than all three of Danny's previous films combined. For the average summer movie theatergoer, Boyle's thriller is probably too complicated, resembling a complex strategic board game where most players expect a lively party game without excessive mental strain. However, I very much enjoyed all the twists where the view of the earlier plot and its actors fundamentally changed, and I don't mind that in reality, hypnosis wouldn't work like this. In my opinion, Trance is one of the few films that can be enjoyed repeatedly and even appreciated more during subsequent screenings. Overall impression: 95%. (07/08/2013)

After a second viewing, I had to go one star lower with my rating, because what I found original at first turned out to be annoying the second time around. I mean the endless series of big reveals that had me going around in circles for so long that it almost felt like having been hypnotized and put on a swing ride. Of the big revelations, the most interesting turned out to be the one delivered by Rosario Dawson. I liked Tuppence Middleton though only in a mini role, and McAvoy's slimy smile still haunts me at night. (08/15/2017)