Star Date 15th July in the year of our Lord 2024 and in the lyrical words of the nutty boys of Madness “It’s raining again” here in an England bereft of a summer whilst our European cousins sizzle and bake under the Great Fire God of the Sky. So kick off your shoes, help yourself to the chocolate biscuits and relax into the first volume (of maybe three, maybe more, who knows?) of my Monday afternoon matinee for a rainy day in The Matrix.
“…but it’s the next ex Mrs Stephen Blackford who is the film’s true star. Rosario Dawson casts a spell on me in every film she appears…”
“ex Mrs Stephen Blackford” — what larks!
“Do you want to remember? Or, do you want to forget?”
What struck me immediately on seeing Danny Boyle’s 10th film to date is that it’s very much a film of the new decade and reflective of the 21st Century. “Trance” is visually and aurally slick, glossy and frenetically edited which propels an intriguing tale through its 101 minute running time that is always engaging and intriguing it’s audience. And lest we forget a plot twist that is almost, almost, on a par with Boyle’s first film “Shallow Grave” and that is very high praise indeed. Trance is visually stunning at times and combines many Danny Boyle touchstones that have made him one of Hollywood’s most sought after directors: multi layered and engaging characters, an intriguing psychological thriller narrative that twists back and forth but never loses its audience, a modern and upbeat soundtrack, a sprinkling of dark humour and a narration from the film’s main character that almost implores you to look closer, deeper and far beyond what is presented on the surface.
“Simon” (James McAvoy) is a young art auctioneer who is professional and diligent yet deeply in debt, principally to “Franck” (Vincent Cassel) who in the film’s opening scene cashes in that debt by stealing Goya’s “Witches in the Air”. Franck is aided by fellow criminals “Nate” (Danny Sapani), “Dominic” (Matt Cross) and “Riz” (Wahab Sheikh). Their job is complete and Simon’s debt is paid. Or is it? Again, the film’s opening narration with its telling statement “No piece of art is worth a human life” and its clever use of “To Camera” narration from Simon (including him simply staring silently straight at the camera or with a half smile) challenges the audience to think again and to look much, much closer.
With a cast of only 16 main characters and many of these purely incidental sideshows to assist the narrative, it falls to McAvoy (Welcome to the Punch and 2014’s Filth) and Cassel (A Dangerous Method and the excellent Black Swan) to nominally headline the film but it’s the next ex Mrs Stephen Blackford who is the film’s true star. Rosario Dawson casts a spell on me in every film she appears, from 2002’s Spike Lee directed classic 25th Hour, both Sin City comic book noir thrillers, Kevin Smith’s excellent sequel to Clerks and Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 homage to Grindhouse Cinema, Death Proof. Here she portrays “Elizabeth” a Harley Street hypnotist charged by the nefarious criminal gang with locating a stolen artefact and takes both a top heavy male only cast and an already twisted narrative to twist both still further in a sublime performance.
Joe Ahearne wrote the original story as well as collaborating with Danny Boyle stalwart John Hodge with the screenplay and both produced an intriguing psychological thriller with numerous narrative twists before the film’s enjoyable, but somewhat frustrating denouement. The joy of the film’s constantly contorting narrative are the questions it poses to the audience: Is this today? Is this a fractured dream? Is this a flashback? What the hell is transference?! Let alone the obvious question of what is actually true and can be taken as such? On the surface at least the narrative appears to be linear but it’s nothing of the sort as Boyle cleverly blends these flashbacks to present day and back again, disorientating the audience still further by occasionally infusing the storyline with sublime surrealistic touches by mixing every narrative strand together, as well as a constantly slow moving camera that segues between the time narratives.
Editor Jon Harris deserves great credit here. Another joy is putting together the pieces of the puzzle as the clues are unravelled, as is the appreciation of the crisp, glossy visuals and numerous reflections which bathe the film at times and all under the watchful eye of regular Director of Photography Anthony Dod Mantle. Rick Smith produces a pulsing beat of a soundtrack with very little in the way of Danny Boyle’s traditional use of singular songs, tracks from M People and Moby aside. But all of these elements are blended together in yet another hallmark Danny Boyle film that has the faintest of echoes with his debut film 20 years ago.
“Trance” can also be found within my 7 volumes of “Essential Film Reviews Collection” on Amazon and whilst you’re there, here are nine self-published books for your delectation too
"The Essential Film Reviews Collection" VOL.7 - link to Amazon
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.