Trance

"Don't be a hero."

2013 1h 41m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 2,434

ThrillerCrimeMystery

Synopsis

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A violent gang enlists the help of a hypnotherapist in an attempt to locate a painting which somehow vanished in the middle of a heist.

“Don't be a hero.”

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Cast

James McAvoy
Simon
Vincent Cassel
Franck
Rosario Dawson
Elizabeth
Danny Sapani
Nate
Matt Cross
Dominic
Wahab Sheikh
Riz
Mark Poltimore
Francis Lemaitre
Tuppence Middleton
Young Woman in Red Car

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Danny Boyle
Writers: John Hodge, Joe Ahearne
Languages: English, French
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Danny Boyle, shot by Anthony Dod Mantle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rick Smith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jon Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James McAvoy and Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Don't be a hero.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Danny Boyle directs. Anthony Dod Mantle behind the camera. Rick Smith scores. Jon Harris cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 13 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Danny Boyle, shot by Anthony Dod Mantle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rick Smith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jon Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7James McAvoy and Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Don't be a hero.".
9IMDB entry: tt1924429 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "amnesia", "loss of sense of reality", "heist", "art thief".

The technical file

Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Original score: Rick Smith
Editing: Jon Harris
Production design: Mark Tildesley
Costume design: Suttirat Anne Larlarb
Makeup / hair: Chloe Meddings
VFX supervisor: Huseyin Caner
Sound: Glenn Freemantle
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $24,300,000
Return: 122% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Trance (2013)

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Danny Boyle

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-02-07
★ 9/10
But no piece of art is worth a human life... Trance is directed by Danny Boyle and adapted to screenplay by John Hodge from Joe Ahearne's film of the same name from 2001. It stars James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson. Music is scored by Rick Smith and cinematography is by Anthony Dod Mantle. Art auctioneer worker Simon (McAvoy) does the double-cross on Franck (Cassel), his partner in an art heist, but after taking a blow to the head suffers amnesia and can't recall where he has hidden a stolen Goya masterpiece. Franck and his thug side-kicks decide to send Simon to hypnotherapist Elizabeth (Dawson) in the hope of unlocking the painting's hiding place. However, once the therapy starts, secrets come tumbling out and nothing is ever as it at first seems. Already this early in the day after the film's release, we know for certain that Danny Boyle's foray into neo-noir is going to split his fan base considerably. Admired for his ability to turn his hand at any genre he fancies, Boyle reaches back to his earlier movies and comes up with a mind bending neo-noir that crackles with the kind of sexual edginess that Paul Verhoeven thrived upon. It sounds snobbish I know, and I have been called a neo-noir snob recently, but if all things noir are not your thing then this really is a film you should stay away from. Think Basic Instinct meets Inception and they take out a 40s Heist movie for drinks and you get an idea where we are at with Trance. All the hallmarks of noir, both neo and conventional classics, are evident here, from characterisations to visual smarts, it's a noir head's dream and very much a must see on the big screen or on Blu-ray formats. Forget any notion of having someone to root for in this, there is scarcely a decent human bone on show. Characters are either fuelled by greed, lust, jealousy or vengeance, or quite simply just not smart enough to operate in the circles they move in. Amnesia is a key component of the story, something which again features a lot in olde noir, as does the central character being a complete dupe...To expand upon more would be stupid of me, the less you know the better it actually is upon first viewing. It really is a difficult film to discuss without delving into why it is such a trippy and deliciously cheeky piece of film. That's not to say that narratively it's smarter than a brain pie, because that's not the case. For as the threads untangle, several times, the mind meld aspect will fall apart if plot dissection is your thing? Also cramming so much "brain food" into the last quarter of film kind of feels like too much, overkill if you will. While Franck's side-kick bad boys are irritatingly disposable. Yet it's a film that begs to be seen more than once, twice, thrice even... Visually it's superlative, it's clear that Boyle and Mantle know and admire noir's visual splendours, with an awareness of atmospheric importance (noir is an atmosphere, not a genre. There's the snob in me again!) pulsing throughout. Set in London but filmed out of Dungeness in Kent, the backdrop is a city of steel and mirrors, a thriving city of wealth and mistrust. The tricks of the trade are here but never once is it style over substance, the visual ticks matter to the narrative. Night time overhead shots of a bustling city come and go, different colour tones for different character's apartments are clever, oblique camera angles ensure distortion of frame is equal to distortion of antagonists/protagonists minds (whose trance is this, really?...). Smudgey silhouettes through bronze glass, outrageous POV shots and caressing camera shots of the human form, no shot is wasted in the name of adding detail. Rest assured, Boyle brings his "A" game here. All of which is covered over by Smith's slow rumbling score that acts as a foreboding observer ready to unleash itself when the carnage begins. The three principal actors come out firing and clearly are enjoying themselves. McAvoy cements his "A" list credentials with a multi layered performance, Cassel is as usual a mighty presence and Dawson, in a bold role, does her best work so far and hints she's ready to move into the big league. While it has to be noted that all three actors have to play their cards very close to their chests throughout; and do so admirably. Boyle's action construction is kinetic, with the pre-credits sequence one of the best opening sequences lately, and Hodge's script has a playfulness about it that ensures those paying attention know the film is self-mocking and not taking itself half as seriously as some film fans seem to think. An audience splitter it is sure to be, but for those with a bent for noirish sexy mind bending heist capers? Get in there! 9/10

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