6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
When upmarket art auctioneer Simon double-crosses the gang responsible for the daring daylight robbery of a priceless painting by Goya, he incurs the wrath of the gang's violent leader, Franck. In the aftermath of a beating where he is knocked unconscious, Simon claims to be suffering from amnesia and is therefore unable to remember where the painting is, provoking Franck into hiring female hypnotist Elizabeth to find the answer. But as Elizabeth delves ever deeper into Simon's subconscious, the lines between fantasy and reality converge, threatening to consume all as a series of shocking events spiral violently out of control.
Starring: James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson, Danny Sapani, Matt CrossPsychological thriller | 100% |
Heist | 67% |
Surreal | 31% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
DD all 448 kbps
English SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Traditional), Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Thai, Turkish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
D-Box
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Woody Allen famously said, "The heart wants what the heart wants," but what we often forget is that everything we attribute to the "heart" is actually
a product of the material brain—its twisting neural pathways, its reserves of memory, its manufactured construction of the self. And the brain can
easily be fooled or otherwise manipulated, by ourselves and others, by drugs or deep states of altered consciousness. Our identities and desires are far
more malleable than we think. That's the overarching theme of Trance, the latest film from Danny Boyle, the high-energy stylist of, most
recently, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire.
The project was on Boyle's back burner for years—it's based on a script by Joe Ahearne that was turned into a British TV movie in 2001—and he finally
brought it into production in the middle of his duties as creative director of the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Trance does give the
impression of a director blowing off some creative steam. If the Olympic opening ceremony was highly regulated, family-friendly-by-mandate, and
targeted-at-the-broadest-possible-audience, Trance is the polar opposite—a free-wheeling, decidedly adult psycho-thriller that will only appeal
to those who enjoy fractured, hard-to-follow narratives. As such, it's inherently a love-it-or-hate-it affair, and even those who have long trusted Boyle's
filmmaking instincts implicitly may question some of Trance's stylistic and narrative turns.
Coming from Danny Boyle, it's no surprise that Trance looks spectacular, alternately creamy and candy-colored, with visual peculiarities meant to heighten the disjointed mood. As is Boyle's wont, the film was shot on all manner of digital cameras, from the Arri Alexa—which makes up the bulk of the material—down to Canon DSLRs and small POV action cams. Each of these cameras has its distinctive strengths and shortcomings, but overall the image in Fox's 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation is very impressive. The one oddity is that source noise—particularly of the "chroma" variety—is quite strong at times, spackling the darker parts of the picture with tiny red and blue dots. Even this might be considered an aesthetic decision, however, and besides, the noise isn't really visible unless you have an exceptionally large screen or stand close to your monitor, pixel-peeping. There's also some noticeable softness in occasional shots, but on the whole, the image is sharp and detailed. Color is excellently reproduced too, vivid and dream-like, with balanced contrast. It looks to me like Fox's Blu-ray is true to intent—no DNR smearing, no edge enhancement or artificial boosting—so the disc earns high marks.
Trance aims to put you in one, with a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track that's enveloping and forceful, with great sound design and a pulsing, hypnotic score. Underworld's Rick Smith, a longtime Boyle collaborator, provides the film's music—which melds electronic and orchestral instrumentation—and it sounds fantastic, with clarity through the range, dynamic presence, and a weighty low-end that surges beneath the tensest scenes. On top of this, ambience and effects are layered expertly in the mix, spread throughout the extended speaker configuration. Whether you have a 7.1 setup or a 5.1 arrangement, Trance will fill the room and surround you from all sides, while dialogue emerges cleanly and comprehensibly from the front channels. No issues here whatsoever. The disc includes several dub and subtitle options; see the top of the page for details.
If Boyle tested audiences' capacity for pain with his nerve-splitting 127 Hours, in Trance, he's out to fry our brains, making us question everything we think we know about the film's characters and their motivations. Some folks will be into this—and the film definitely has its pleasures— while others might find it a style-over-substance Möbius strip, so circular and insular that it's hard to properly enjoy. Personally, I found it fun but un- engaging on any level besides the superficial thrills and gorgeous cinematography. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, though, and comes with some fine special features, so if you're a longtime Danny Boyle fan—and you enjoy twisting, looping stories—it's ultimately a worthwhile purchase.
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