Famed director Danny Boyle reverts back to more edgy form with Trance after recently holding the title artistic director of the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics. Boyle reunites with co-writer John Hodge for the first time since The Beach, however, Trance contains a mind trip plot that is more similar to a different Leonardo DiCaprio film, Inception. Both films deal with extracting information from the subconscious, but instead of blurring the line between reality and dreams like in Inception, Trance puts its characters (and audience) under the mental state of hypnosis. Unfortunately, the line the film without a doubt straddles is between greatness and atrocious as the final act weakens everything that comes before it.

Trance opens at a heart-pumping pace when a London art auction employee named Simon (James McAvoy) describes the procedure they must follow in the event of an attempt of robbery. This is an obvious foreshadow to what is about to happen in the next scene. Just as the auction for Francisco Goya’s “Wiches in the Air” reaches 30 million dollars, Franck (Vincent Cassel) and his gang bust in the room with smoke bombs and shotguns in hand.

Simon remains remarkably calm and follows the procedure he just got done explaining during the voiceover at the beginning. However, just as he is about to secure the painting down the emergency chute, Franck smacks him with the butt of his gun. The robbers manage to get away with the painting only to realize a short while later that the actual canvas is missing and they only have the frame of the painting. Suspecting that Simon had something to do with the mix up, Franck hires a hypnotist (Rosario Dawson) to dive into Simon’s subconscious in order to figure out where he hid the painting.

All of this happens within the first ten minutes and barely scratches the surface of all the different directions the film ends up going. What starts as a rather standard heist film quickly morphs into a psychological thriller. As more and more of the story unfolds it forces you into thinking that any one of the three main characters controls the power—which is what makes the experience so enjoyable. And for the majority of the runtime Trance is one hell of a ride.

Alongside his familiar cinematography collaborator Anthony Dod Mantle, Danny Boyle creates a patchwork of carefully shot and edited scenes that play mental head games of déjà vu for the viewer. The visuals are wonderfully paired with the narrative like a glass of red wine and a juicy steak. Trance employs some amazing techniques to visually achieve a subconscious view of Simon’s mind through the use of reflections, titled camera angles, vibrant colors, and precise focusing in conjunction with a pulsating score.

But things go awry in the final 20 minutes of the film. Even though there were some minor plausibility issues from the start, the ending is downright ridiculous and feels cheap. The first two acts put on a brilliant demonstration of storytelling and visual effects only for the whole production to completely stall out in the final act. Events transpire that I would expect from the Fast and Furious franchise that end up undermining the cleverness Trance began with. Even the music takes a huge departure from the moody atmospheric beats that fill most of the film to an almost upbeat and cheery sound by the end.

Although most of the flaws can be overlooked, Trance comes up shy of something truly great because it ultimately becomes too contrived to simply overlook. The ending wraps the plotlines up far too neatly for the audience by answering almost all of the mysterious that made it interesting. Unfortunately, the whole film is affected by the zany third act, but if you can manage to overlook that, Trance can be a nifty thriller that is entertaining enough to seek out.

In order to celebrate the Blu-ray/DVD release of Danny Boyle’s Trance on July 23rd, we are giving away a copy of Trance on Blu-ray to one of our readers. Trance follows a fine-art auctioneer named Simon (James McAvoy), who after a blow to his head during an attempted robbery of a valuable painting, awakens to find that the painting – and his memory – have disappeared. He enters a deadly love triangle with a hypnotist (Rosario Dawson) when he is forced to undergo hypnosis by his partner in crime (Vincent Cassel).

How do you enter the giveaway?

Simply email me (dustin AT waytooindie.com) or tweet us at @WayTooIndie your favorite Vincent Cassel film See our post of Vincent Cassel’s Most Seductive Roles for some ideas.

Trance is available on DVD and Blu-ray on July 23rd!

TRANCE Blu- ray Special Features

• Theatrical Feature Blu-ray
• Deleted Scenes
• Trance Unraveled (Easter Egg)
• The Power of Suggestion-Making Trance
• Kick Off
• Danny’s Film Noir
• Hypnotherapy
• The Look
• The Final Rewrite
• Danny Boyle Retrospective
• Short Film: EUGENE by Spencer Susser
• Theatrical Trailer
• UV Copy

TRANCE DVD Exclusive Features

• Theatrical Feature
• Hypnotherapy
• The Look
• The Power of Suggestion-Making Trance
• The Final Rewrite
• Theatrical Trailer

Watch the trailer for Trance:

We have created a list of Vincent Cassel’s Most Seductive Roles to go along with the release of his latest role in Danny Boyle’s Trance, which arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on July 23rd.

It’s undeniable that French-born actor Vincent Cassel has a certain charm about him. Even when playing a darker character, it’s hard not to be intrigued by him. From abusive dance teacher to a robber rolling in money we’ll examine Cassel’s most memorable personas.

Thomas Leroy (Black Swan)

Thomas Leroy uses sexuality and psychology to train the ballerinas in his company. He pushes Nina Sayers to become a perfect Swan Queen and tries to bring out the darker side of the relatively innocent young dancer. Leroy’s creepy and abusive personality makes him an unforgettable character in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan that will haunt the memories of film-fanatics for years to come.

Vinz (La Haine)

In the French film La Haine, Vinz captured the attention of the audience who felt his anger and determination in finding vengeance for the death of his friend. Though Vinz desires to get revenge on the police force, he realizes that he does not have the heart for killing out of hatred.

Francois Toulour (Ocean’s Twelve)

As the wealthy Francois Toulour, Vincent Cassel portrays a robber who is well known for his ability to outsmart others. The dapper Toulour wowed the audience with his car, lakeside mansion, and smooth personality. Although he is one of the “bad guys” in the Ocean’s series, he is ranks as one of the most memorable characters.

Max Kerkerian (The Crimson Rivers)

Cassel was both brave and intelligent as French policeman Max Kerkerian in The Crimson Rivers. When Max teams up with a fellow policeman, the two work hard to uncover the truth behind some curious situations. Max is unwilling to leave questions unanswered and helps his partner through the process of searching for a cold-blooded killer.

Franck (Trance)

Cassel doesn’t look to disappoint in his latest role in Trance. Franck has a steamy relationship with a hypnotist by the name of Elizabeth, with whom he plans an intricately detailed heist. There is something alluring about Franck, who somehow escapes even the toughest of situations and is not what he seems to be at first sight.

Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 127 Hours) has always had a knack to bring interesting stories to life in his films and his latest film Trance is no exception. It follows an art auctioneer who teams up with a gang of criminals to steal Francisco Goya’s Witches in the Air, a painting that is worth millions. During the heist an incident occurs where the auctioneer loses memory of where he hid the painting, forcing the gang to hire a hypnotherapist to try to pry at his subconscious.

Trance lands on Blu-ray and DVD on July 23rd

TRANCE Blu- ray Special Features

• Theatrical Feature Blu-ray
• Deleted Scenes
• Trance Unraveled (Easter Egg)
• The Power of Suggestion-Making Trance
• Kick Off
• Danny’s Film Noir
• Hypnotherapy
• The Look
• The Final Rewrite
• Danny Boyle Retrospective
• Short Film: EUGENE by Spencer Susser
• Theatrical Trailer
• UV Copy

TRANCE DVD Exclusive Features

• Theatrical Feature
• Hypnotherapy
• The Look
• The Power of Suggestion-Making Trance
• The Final Rewrite
• Theatrical Trailer

Darren Aronofsky does it again. If you thought a film about ballet could not possibly be entertaining, think again. Black Swan overcomes the hype that surrounds it, a difficult and rare feat. It is a seductively sophisticated film with many layers that transforms from innocent to darkness.

Black Swan is about a ballerina named Nina (Natalie Portman) who works for a New York City ballet company. She is completely devoted to ballet and strives for absolute perfection, qualities that are well suited for ballerinas.

The director Thomas Leroy of the ballet company announces that a new rendition of the classic Swan Lake is the next production. He selects Nina for the lead, the Swan Queen. When the director announces that he is changing up the production of Swan Lake, he announces that the Swan Queen would play both the White and the Black Swan, we see the director’s body doubled in the mirror. Undoubtedly showing the contrast of personalities between good and evil.

Because Nina needs everything to be perfect in her eyes, it poses a problem when trying to get the Black Swan part down. She has a very fitting personality for the White Swan but The Black Swan is not supposed to be perfect, rather completely opposite. The Black Swan is also supposed to trick and seduce, which is exactly what the film does to us.

As she struggles with the demanding role, she gains added pressure as a new dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) threatens to steal the lead role. This new dancer is Nina’s competition and rival as Leroy takes notice of her Black Swan playing ability.

Yet the two dancers find themselves in a twisted friendship. Nina sees it as a chance to get into touch with her dark, Black Swan side. Lily sees it as a chance to get closer with the enemy. But in the end only one can succeed and play the lead role and both will go as far as they need to accomplish this.

Duality is showing throughout, sometimes even overwhelmingly. The film is about the contrast between black and white and good and evil. Nearly everything in the film, especially the clothing, is in black and white, giving us subtle clues of what is right and wrong. The amount of mirror shots are constant reminders of self reflection.

You can even see it in Portman’s character when she transforms from innocence to darkness. Which is why I think Natalie Portman deserves (and will win) an Oscar for the Best Female Lead. Portman is phenomenal and does it like no one else could. You can tell that she trained for 10 months for the role. She did most of her own dancing in the film.

What I found most interesting was how the production of Swan Lake was in a lot of ways what the film Black Swan is about. That adds layers in the theme of seduction and deception. Aronofsky brilliantly transforms a story about Swan Lake into itself.

Cinematography in the film is much like ballet; it was close, tight and perfect. The shots effectively showed the art behind ballet and not so subtle hints of contrasts of color. The visuals can be most effective with a well done score. Thankfully, Black Swan has that covered as well. Although, one cannot help but wonder why Thom Yorke’s Black Swan was not featured in this film. It would have been a near perfect fit for the film.

Black Swan is a wonderfully captivating film from beginning to end. It constantly tries to blur the black and white line between what is real and what is not. Much like Nina’s character, the film itself transforms from an innocence one to a dark and terrifying one. Although, I would not call it a masterpiece, it contains many elements of one. Easily one of the best films of the year.