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Taking a deeper look at current and past films and how they relate to the world today.

Jonathan Kim is an independent film critic who writes and produces film reviews for Uprising and other outlets. He is a former co-producer at Brave New Films.

Read his reviews online at ReThinkReviews.net. Watch his videos at www.youtube.com/user/jsjkim, and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReThinkReviews. ReThink Reviews’ theme song is by Restavrant.

TRANCE

Other than his penchant for bright colors, quick cutting, and pulsing electric soundtracks, director Danny Boyle’s filmography defies easy categorization, with such diverse works as the junkie adventure ‘Trainspotting’, sprinting zombies in ‘28 Days Later’, the rags-to-riches Mumbai love story ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, and slow motion amputation in ‘127 Hours’. So after pulling off the spectacle of London’s 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, Boyle has gone to something considerably smaller, a twisty crime caper slash love triangle slash psychological thriller called ‘Trance’ that would get Alfred Hitchcock’s nod of approval.

‘Trance’ takes place in modern-day London with an art auctioneer named Simon (played by James McAvoy) who gets bashed in the head during a heist to steal a Goya painting worth millions. But we quickly learn that Simon was no innocent victim and had plans to steal the painting for himself, but the concussion Simon suffered has erased his memory of where he hid the painting. So when Franck, the heist leader (played by a wonderfully menacing Vincent Cassel), realizes he doesn’t have the painting and can’t simply torture its location out of Simon, he forces Simon to find a hypnotherapist (played by Rosario Dawson) to uncover his lost memories.

But as Elizabeth and Simon grow closer as she digs further into his unconscious, it becomes clear that ‘Trance’ is about more than a heist gone wrong. And as you learn more about Simon, Franck, and Elizabeth, you’ll find yourself not only wondering what genre of movie you’re watching, but also who’s tricking who, who the main character is, and who you should be rooting for. That’s why ‘Trance’ reminded me somewhat of a Hitchcock film, where the crime itself was often only a springboard for psychological examinations of criminals, their victims, and their pursuers. ‘Trance’ also reminded me of Christopher Nolan’s breakout film ‘Memento’, another twisty film with an unreliable narrator who can’t trust his own memories.

Perhaps ‘Trance’’s biggest flaw is some of its claims about hypnosis. While hypnotherapy can certainly be a powerful and effective tool, it won’t get someone to doing something against their will or their own self interest. But I don’t begrudge it since hypnosis in movies has always existed in its own semi-magical reality, and in the case of ‘Trance’, it’s the portal to interesting themes like dealing with the past, our past selves, and what we’ll do in an attempt to forge a more hopeful future, similar to the role the sci-fi memory-erasing technology in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ plays.

‘Trance’ isn’t out to save the world, but it’s nice to see a solid little piece of entertainment that has a fun time mashing up genres, going against conventions, and keeping you guessing while expecting the audience to keep up with its zippy pace and twisty plot. And if you need a more juvenile reason to see ‘Trance’, it has Rosario Dawson getting very, very naked which, like Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis’ kiss in ‘Black Swan’, is probably going to dominate the coverage of this movie. But don’t let that distract you, since ‘Trance’ is an engrossing Friday or Saturday night movie and a reminder that Danny Boyle remains one of the most interesting directors out there.

‘Trance’ is rated R and opens today in select theaters.