Trance - 2013 film review

Trance is a Danny Boyle film, and is as visually appealing as you might expect with this director. It's an art heist movie with a difference, and it begins with a gripping ten-minute sequence before the opening credits, with the theft of a $25 million Goya painting from an auction house. The story is introduced by Simon (James McAvoy), who works in the auction house and who seems to make a brave but unavailing attempt to stop the thieves, and is injured in the process. It's no great surprise to learn that the crime was an inside job and that Simon was involved, but from that point the story becomes quite unpredictable.

The unpredictability, unfortunately, is a large part of the problem with the film. It's based on a script which Joe Ahearne sent to Boyle many years before the film was made. Boyle involved John Hodge as a script doctor, but I don't think enough doctoring took place. Whilst we're not meant to take the story too seriously, a film of this kind does, I think, need to have some touches of plausibility. And that's in very short supply.

The central idea is that Simon has hidden the painting, but because of his injuries, can't remember what he did with it. Torturing him doesn't work, so his fellow thieves (led by Vincent Cassel) agree to have him undergo hypnosis so that, in a trance, he will reveal what happened to the painting. The hypnotherapist chosen is the beautiful Rosario Dawson and again it comes as no surprise to learn that she has some previous connection with Simon - or that she is destined to become a femme fatale.

While the villains try to locate the painting, the auction house makes no apparent effort to check on whether Simon was involved in the crime. This seems to me to be even more of a weakness than one of the criticisms made by Peter Bradshaw, giving the movie a poor reviewin the Guardian, when he points out that there's no indication as to how the baddies will sell the painting. Dawson is very watchable, even if her character isn't credible, but on the whole this is a film that doesn't make the most of its considerable potential.

Derailed - film review

Derailed, a 2005 thriller, is a film I've watched a couple of times now. It's one of those movies that did not seem to go down well with the critics, but which has been relatively popular with audiences. Perhaps I watched it in tolerant mood, but overall I think it is much better than many reviews suggest - fast-moving, and with plenty of twists, several of them pretty good.

The set-up is, admittedly, not desperately original. A businessman (Clive Owen), married with a disabled daughter, is finding home life and work trying, and when he meets an attractive businesswoman (Jennifer Aniston, showing that there is more to her acting range than Friends), the result is predictable. They finish up in a seedy hotel - but an armed man breaks in, and what happens after that is life-changing.

Owen soon finds himself in a downward spiral of deceit and despair, and becomes a blackmail victim. The obvious (if unattractive) solution is to involve the police, all the more so when a man he is with is brutally murdered by the bad guy (cleverly played by Vincent Cassel, who was almost as unpleasant in Black Swan). But no, he has to do it his way, and this makes for tense watching, even though disbelief needs to be suspended somewhat. When the story seems to have come to an end, there is a coda set in a prison which I didn't see coming.

The film is based on a novel by James Siegel - one of many crime writers who has also had a successful career in advertising. Owen, an actor I really like, and Aniston are both very good, and Melissa George, who has a rather limited role as Owen's gorgeous but grumpy wife, is also appealing. Add Cassell to the mix, and you have a cast that makes the most of the script, and the resulte is very watchable.

Black Swan

Black Swan is a recent creepy psychological suspense movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky. It has earned huge critical acclaim, and, although I had one or two reservations about it, I can see why. It is visually stunning, the acting is terrific, and the music complements the story superbly.

Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, a beautiful and driven ballerina with a company based in New York. She lives with her very protective mother (Barbara Hershey) and it soon becomes clear that she is a perfectionist, with “issues”. The company is due to perform a new version of Swan Lake and Nina wants the lead role.

The director of the company (Vincent Cassel) is brilliant but odious, and he dumps his former favourite (Winona Ryder) in favour of Nina. But another dancer called Lily (Mila Kunis) is also after the top job. The relationship between Nina and Lily is a key area of focus of the film.

It’s a chilling movie, but the story structure is relatively simple and rather predictable. It wasn’t difficult to foresee more or less what would happen. But this is perhaps a quibble. The film is compelling to watch, and Portman is very good in an extremely demanding role. Kunis, Cassel and Hershey are also excellent. Among recent films I’ve watched, only The King’s Speech seemed to me to be superior.