Trance

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Trance

R,

2013,

1h 41m,

Crime/

Drama/

Mystery & Thriller

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Watchlist

Watchlist

69%

183 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

69%

Tomatometer

183 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Simon (James McAvoy), a fine-art auctioneer, joins a gang of thieves led by Franck (Vincent Cassel) to steal a priceless Goya painting. During the heist Simon suffers a head injury and awakes with no memory of where he hid the artwork. When torture and physical threats fail to break through his amnesia, Franck hires a hypnotherapist named Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to find the answer. But as Elizabeth probes the recesses of Simon's mind, the lines between truth and deceit start to blur.

Critics Consensus

As stylish as ever, director Danny Boyle seems to be treading water with the surprisingly thinly written Trance -- but for fans of Boyle's work, it should still prove a trippily entertaining distraction.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Sep 4, 2018

Trance is so in love with its dream-within-dream conceits it pays little attention to anything else. It pays little attention to detail, and you know how such things bother me.

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Ryan Gilbey

New Statesman

Oct 3, 2017

In the end, it's the unnecessary tricksiness of the film that halts its flow. A crucial human component is missing.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Jun 21, 2016

It's not that I don't think Boyle knows, by the time things start to get really bananas in the second half, that his movie is silly. I'm jut not convinced that he ever decided how he felt about it.

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Matt Oakes

Silver Screen Riot

Oct 15, 2026

B

Although some of the character beats seem hurried at times, once Trance plays its final hand, you're sure to be left satisfied and not feeling conned out of your time and money.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Sep 12, 2022

3.5/4

Inside a twisting scenario about an art-heist-gone-wrong is Boyle’s more fascinating trip inside unconscious minds and damaged psyches.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 26, 2020

2.5/4.0

One of my least favorite of Boyle's films.

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Harry R

Jan 27, 2019

7.0/10 -(Seen on 1/27/19)

Hermione S

Sep 19, 2018

6/10 extraordinarily thin

May 3, 2018

The first half of the movie seems cliché, but then there's plot twist after plot twist, and you don't quite know untilll the very end how it all comes together.

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Harry S

Mar 30, 2018

kept my attention till the (seeming) 20 alternate endings confused me

Abraham S

Mar 29, 2018

loved every minute of it

Harry W

Feb 27, 2018

the choice is yours.. Trance The complexity can favour in on either side on such tales for either it can be convincing, exhilarating and thought provoking or can be all a hoax and luckily in here it works for the betterment of it. Danny Boyle is no short on execution as he delivers thoroughly but the "bad guy" in here is the script which fails to offer enough gravitas and development to the characters and rather focuses on seeking viewer's attention. James McAvoy is as always, amazing in his role and stays true to its character and is supported well enough by Rosaria Dawson and Vincent Cassel. Trance hits hard and fast from the first frame and tries to keep the urgency and tension alive between the characters which works for the most part of the feature considering its short runtime of around 100 minutes.

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James McAvoy

Simon

Rosario Dawson

Elizabeth

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Franck

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Synopsis

Simon (James McAvoy), a fine-art auctioneer, joins a gang of thieves led by Franck (Vincent Cassel) to steal a priceless Goya painting. During the heist Simon suffers a head injury and awakes with no memory of where he hid the artwork. When torture and physical threats fail to break through his amnesia, Franck hires a hypnotherapist named Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to find the answer. But as Elizabeth probes the recesses of Simon's mind, the lines between truth and deceit start to blur.

Director: Danny Boyle
Producer: Christian Colson
Screenwriter: Joe Ahearne, John Hodge
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Cloud Eight, Decibel Films
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Nudity|Sexual Content|Some Grisly Images|Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 12, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.3M
Runtime: 1h 41m

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