Review: Trance

Review: Trance

Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson

 

A stylish thriller, Danny Boyle's Trance tries to bend our minds with hypnotism, yet only manages to path way for predictability. Opening in the classic Boyle style, a disjointed montage shows us the stasis of the protagonist James McAvoy's Simon, a Fine Art auctioneer forced to aid a heist to pay off a gambling debt. A dry voiceover takes us through the event and to the key problem- a hit on the head has left Simon with amnesia and he cannot remember where he has hidden the painting. Desperate Franck (Vincent Cassel), the head of the organisation, hires Harley Street hypnotherapist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to find the memory in his mind. The film then plays out in a number of trances, leaving the audience to decipher the difference between truth and imagination within the character's mind.

Boyle keeps the strong visual style present in all his work vivid throughout the film, allowing the audience to submerge themselves in the trances. This works to create a sense of ambiguity surrounding the information gained from the hypnotherapy sessions and leads the audience to question the intention of each character. The narrative gets a bit too clever for its own good in the final act, leading to a plot twist that whilst well laid, does not have enough integrity to be believed. This is because of the difficulties in developing characters other than Simon when the majority of the film takes place inside his head.

The film remains an enjoyable watch, as with all of Boyle's work, with the integral problems lying with the script. There is an opportunity in the last third to flip everything one more time, but is turned away in favour of providing the audience with solid answers. In a film actively trying to be ambiguous, the end is in the wrong style. Leaving a narrative as subjective as Trance open to interpretation would have provided a needed distraction from the other flaws in the story. As it is, Trance is an enjoyable, well made thriller that thinks its much cleverer than it is. 

3/5

Review: Side Effects

Review: Side Effects

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Steven Soderbergh's swansong is a slick psychological thriller, packed with conniving twists and sinister turns. The story centres around Emily (Mara), whose husband Martin (Chattum) has just been released from jail for inside trading, must battle crippling depression to adjust to the change in her life and become the wife he wants her to be. She meets Dr Banks (Law) as she tries to curb her urges to harm herself through a number of different medications. The one she settles on lead to some unexpected side effects, sending her world into turmoil once more. It is then up to Banks to set everything straight.

Each performance is strong, with a stand out turn from Law who has not looked so alert for the best part of a decade. Rooney Mara is also reliably excellent, providing the right balance of subtlety and sincerity to derail the audience at every corner. Soderbergh's direction is reliably excellent, with an understated, murky visual style perfect for an unpredictable ride.

The key to a successful thriller is genuine surprises taking the audience in unexpected directions, which Side Effects achieves with ease. Each time a direction seems set the narrative changes gears, leaving the audience reeling, trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle. This leads to a highly entertaining picture, allowing Soderbergh to leave us with a fist bump of respect rather than a loud bang. It was puzzling that he would make Side Effects his final film rather than last summer's magnificent Magic Mike, yet this seems more appropriate. For years Soderbergh has been reliable in providing reliable out put of strong, sturdy films that got the job done with little fuss. Why bow out on anything different?

 4/5

Review: Welcome To The Punch

 Review: Welcome To The Punch

Director: Eran Creevy

Starring: James McAvoy, Mark Strong, Peter Mullan, David Morrissey, Andrea Riseborough  

Welcome To The Punch is a stylish, glossy british crime thriller that gets caught up in its American aspirations at the cost of plot and character development. The film sees detective Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) presented with a chance to convict his long time enemy Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) after Sternwood's son gets caught up in a world of drugs and organised crime. The basic premise works well, but quickly descends into a mess as layers are added and an unnecessarily large number of characters are introduced. The audience are left confused and uncaring, having not been allowed enough time to empathise with any of the characters or to orient themselves with the narrative.

The film is not without merit. Clearly inspired by American crime thrillers the film is a mass with scenery porn. The audience are treated to sweeping ariel shots of London's magnificent skyline at night, along with well shot action sequences. Director Eran Creevy puzzlingly tries to depict London as dark and gritty by adding blue filter to every shot, yet leaving the streets themselves oddly empty and clean. Whilst this provides a feast for the eyes, it serves to further baffle the audience as they must reconcile this glossy London with the city riddled with gun crime and corruption presented to them in the plot. 

There is also fun to be had with the cast. The result of having an excessive number of characters is that it provides lots of jobs for actors and one could play British characters actor bingo whilst watching the picture. McAvoy and Strong are joined by Andrea Riseborough, David Morrissey, Ruth Sheen, Peter Mullen, Johnny Harris and Daniel Mays to name just a few. One is just about ready to applaud when Steve Oram appears as a pesky journalist for just one scene. Everyone here is having a great time, sticking their teeth into the grizzly drama and action. These performances are what makes the film watchable, providing a level of camp that prevents it from heading into Nick Love territory. 

Welcome To The Punch is a fun ride if you turn of your brain and embrace the silliness. As a serious crime thriller it's not great, but there are much worse things out there. 

2.5/5