Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- Mild
- paranoid
- seductive
- disorienting
- late night thriller viewing
- puzzle film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film stylish, absorbing, and darkly entertaining, while acknowledging that its complex reality shifts can be overcomplicated.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Simon’s amnesia and hypnotherapy sessions make the recovery of the stolen painting depend on unstable, implanted, and suppressed memories.
Franck and Elizabeth use Simon’s susceptibility and therapy sessions to compete for control over his recollections and actions.
The auction-house heist, double crosses, sexual manipulation, and shifting loyalties give the film a noirish, morally unstable tone.
Danny Boyle’s energized presentation and Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography support rapid transitions between apparent reality, suggestion, and recollection.
Films like Trance, and why
The Game
Shares a neo-noir atmosphere, elaborate heist mechanics, shifting identities, and reality-bending mystery.
Memento
Combines a psychologically unstable protagonist, fragmented memory, criminal intrigue, and a puzzle-box narrative.
Shallow Grave
Features hypnotic visual energy, criminal double crosses, black humor, and an increasingly unstable grasp on reality.
The Thomas Crown Affair
Pairs art-world criminality with seductive deception, manipulation, and a stylish neo-noir mystery structure.
Movie Details
- Director
- Danny Boyle
- Release Date
- 2013-03-27
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (2425)
Cast
- James McAvoy
- Vincent Cassel
- Rosario Dawson
- Danny Sapani
- Matt Cross
- Wahab Sheikh
- Mark Poltimore
- Tuppence Middleton
- Simon Kunz
- Michael Shaeffer
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Cinemax Amazon Channel, Cinemax Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Trance about?
- An amnesiac art auctioneer enters a hypnotic maze of heists, desire, and betrayal while criminals fight to recover a vanished masterpiece.
- What is Trance like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Trance as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is Trance violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Trance as mild.
- What did critics think of Trance?
- Critics broadly found the film stylish, absorbing, and darkly entertaining, while acknowledging that its complex reality shifts can be overcomplicated.
- Which films are like Trance?
- Films with a similar feel include The Game, Memento, Shallow Grave, and The Thomas Crown Affair.
- How long is Trance?
- Trance runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Trance?
- In United States, Trance streams on Cinemax Amazon Channel, Cinemax Apple TV channel.
