Film

Trance

Name: Trance
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Released: 2013
Cast: James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson, Danny Sapani, Matt Cross

Trance is a twisty heist thriller that pivots on hypnotherapy, where McAvoy plays an art auctioneer caught between criminals and his own fractured memory. Director Danny Boyle ratchets up the visual intensity—fast cuts, saturated colours, disorienting sound design—until you're as confused and captivated as the protagonist. Stylish, often clever, occasionally infuriating.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a slippery puzzle thriller where the mind is the crime scene and the restless visual energy carries you past the plot's stretches of logic.

Skip it if you need airtight logic, since the reveals stack up fast and several strain belief, and the glossy style can feel more like a showpiece than a story.

What it asks of you: It runs about a hundred minutes and rarely sits still, so you need to stay alert, since it keeps doubling back and rewriting what you thought you had seen.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Memento2000

Nolan's reverse-chronology puzzle about a man hunting his wife's killer despite amnesia. Like Trance, it uses narrative structure itself as a weapon, and rewards close attention with genuine revelation.

But The backwards storytelling can feel gimmicky, and the moral ambiguity demands you sit with uncomfortable implications rather than root for anyone.

The Ocean's 11 Story2001

Heist film with style, charm, and genuine surprise twists. Smart without being show-off; propulsive without being exhausting. A masterclass in how to make a complex plot feel effortless.

But Occasionally breezy where Trance is tense; if you want psychological darkness, this glides past it.

The Grifters1990

Con artists and double-crosses, with Annette Bening, John Cusack, and Angelica Huston in a low-key thriller about deception and trust. Morally murky and deeply satisfying.

But Less visually flashy than Trance; the thrills come from tension and character rather than style. Slower burn.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Trance

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Paprika2006

Both use visual dazzle and disorientation to mirror a protagonist's fractured consciousness. Both are intoxicated with style as story.

A scientist's dream-sharing device is stolen, and reality fractures into dreamscape. Anime that moves like Trance at its most visually intoxicated—dizzying, colourful, structurally audacious. Hypnosis as metaphor for cinema itself.

But Animation-as-live-action substitution doesn't work for everyone. The narrative deliberately refuses coherence in places; some find it exhilarating, others exhausting.

Shutter Island2010

DiCaprio investigates a disappearance on a prison island while his grip on reality crumbles. Unreliable narrator done with real psychological weight, and one of Scorsese's most audacious twists.

But Heavy and deliberately bleak. The ending divides people sharply—some find it transcendent, others feel cheated.

Drive2011

A driver gets tangled in a heist gone wrong. Neon-soaked style, minimal dialogue, crushing violence. If you love Boyle's visual language, this is essential.

But Meditative and slow where you might want propulsion; very little dialogue means you have to read mood from image and sound alone.

Brick2006

High school noir. A mystery unfolds in Long Beach with noir tropes, sharp dialogue, and genuine surprise. Proof that a clever premise executed with conviction can transcend its setting.

But The affectation of noir-speak in a high school setting will annoy some before it clicks. Can feel slight compared to the real thing.

The Machinist2004

Christian Bale, wasted and paranoid, spirals through a factory setting. Psychological unravelling with an unreliable grip on what's real. Relentless and hypnotic dread.

But Punishingly grim, with Bale's emaciated performance genuinely uncomfortable to watch. No levity, no reprieve.

Red Rock West1993

Nicolas Cage stumbles into a con in a desert town. B-movie thrills with real wit and escalating chaos. Proof that modest budgets can buy genuine surprises.

But Doesn't have Trance's glossy production values; feels rougher and more pulpy, which some will see as charming and others as cheap.

The Vanishing1988

A Dutch masterpiece about obsession: a man becomes fixated on discovering what happened to his girlfriend. Psychological horror in a thriller's clothes; genuinely unsettling.

But Glacial pacing and a bleak worldview. The ending subverts expectation so thoroughly some viewers feel robbed rather than moved.

F for Fake1973

Both are fundamentally about the unreliability of perception and the hypnotic power of a charismatic voice guiding you toward false conclusions. Both are love letters to the art of misdirection.

Welles's documentary about art forgery, with Welles himself as conjurer-narrator, muddying the line between truth and performance. About deception and hypnotic spectacle. A magician filming magicians.

But Documentary form will disappoint those wanting narrative. Welles's voiceover and structural games demand active engagement. Not a passive watch.