Rosario Dawsonis having one of the best years of her career. In addition to her leading role in Disney’s family fantasy comedyHaunted Mansion, Dawson will be taking on the role of the beloved Star Wars animated character Ahsoka Tano in the highly anticipatedThe Mandalorianspinoff,Ahsoka. While Star Wars fans are likely hesitant about seeing anyone other thanAshley Ecksteinin the now iconic role, Dawson has been one of the most consistently underrated actresses in the industry for some time now. Between tying together the Marvel Netflix universe inDaredevil, bringing a surprising emotional depth toKevin Smith’s “View Askewniverse,” and elevating mediocre comic book movies likeSin City: A Dame To Kill For, Dawson has generally been better than the material she’s been given to work with. This couldn’t be more evident in the case ofDanny Boyle’s 2013 heist filmTrance, a solid mystery thriller that turns into a great one due to the bizarre charisma that Dawson added to her performance.
Tranceis an example of the strangedirectorial aspirations of Danny Boyle, a director whose career has fluctuated from gritty independent coming-of-age films (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting) to dark science fiction thrillers (28 Days Later, Sunshine) to major Oscar contenders (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours). At first,Tranceresembles a 1970s-style heist thriller, but it gets into increasingly bizarre territory once Boyle begins adding an element of hypnosis and surrealism thanks to Dawson’s character. In many ways, she’s the femme fatale of the story, and the asset that Boyle needed in order to inform the audience that he had a more ambitious project in mind than simply making another version ofOcean’s Eleven.
‘Trance’ Was an Odd Choice for Director Danny Boyle
Tranceopens with a nauseating heist sequence in which the crime leader Franck (Vincent Cassel) and his heist team incapacitate the auctioneer Simon Newton (James McAvoy) to stealFrancisco Goya’s painted masterwork “Witches in the Air.” Upon their escape, Franck realizes that he’s been out-mastered, as the frame he believes to have stolen was taken by Simon during the frantic heist. It doesn’t take Franck long to track down the meek, unlucky auctioneer, but Simon can’t remember the Goya’s location as a result of his traumatic injuries during the initial siege. While there aren’t any traditional means of solving Simon’s amnesia problem, Franck believes that sending him to hypnotherapy might do the trick. This is where Dawson enters the story as Simon’s hypnotist Elizabeth Lamb, and where things get more confusing and exciting all at once.
The central tension of the film relies on the audience’s consciousness of their own memories. Do they remember where Simon hid the Goya, and can they trust the images that Boyle has placed in their head?Tranceneeded an actress who could suggest to the audience that nothing was literal,which Dawson does in this movie. Elizabeth probes Simon with specific questions about the day in question and his best estimation of what happened. Even though Simon is the one with the secret, as he’s falsely told her that he’s only looking for lost keys, it’s clear from the commanding presence of Dawson’s voice within his mind that she holds all the cards.
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Rosario Dawson shows Elizabeth’s sharpnessearly on in the story, as it’s clear that she can see through Simon’s facade. This forces Franck to deal with her directly, something he’s terrified of doing out of fear that their high-profile crime is getting recognition from the local police department’s investigation. It creates an interesting tension between the trio; Simon may or may not know where the painting is and Franck is literally the one with the smoking gun, but it’s Elizabeth who holds all the cards. Dawson brings forward this confidence through her unflinching demeanor amidst Franck’s threats and Simon’s emotional breakdowns. She knows that she has all the power: if no one knows where the painting is, the entire ordeal would have been pointless.
Rosario Dawson Elevate’s Danny Boyle’s ‘Trance’
Tranceproceeds to get more confusing, as there’s no clear indication as to which character’s perspective is to be believed. Despite not being present on the day of the heist itself, Elizabeth’s opinion is seen as just as important as Franck and Simons’, as if she holds some sense of extraordinary knowledge that neither man possesses. It’s during these (literally) hypnotic sequences whenRosario Dawson’s performance really shines; her soothing, suggestive voice holds such a powerful presence within Simon’s mind that he’s not able to trust anything but what she tells him. Elizabeth becomes the only reality that he can trust, and Dawson proves that even a vocal performance can hold this much power. She’s the only thing that the viewer can think about amidst the extended hypnotic sections.
There’s an element ofTrancethat verges on the exploitative, as both Franck and Simon engage in sexual relationships with Elizabeth in their subconscious hypnosis sessions. Amidst the intimate moments, Dawson shows a dedicated realism that creates both mystery and sympathy. It’s evident that she’s being objectified by these men, but she’s also using every opportunity that she gets to learn about the situation and where the Goya might be. Even as Franck pressures Elizabeth to begin seducing Simon in order to open up his mind, he’s faced with the knowledge that whatever information is obtained, she will get to it first. Dawson transforms her objectification into an asset, as she knows that Franck can’t afford to discard her entirely. Without spoiling the twists and turns that the story takes, the final revelations giveDawson even more power in these moments.
Tranceis a very odd movie that’s so enamored with its own style and addicted to keeping the audience on their feet that it can be tough to follow. Nonetheless, Dawson’s performance is so riveting that it turns a lesser Boyle vehicle into one of his must-see movies. She crafts a fascinating character that has become trapped within a film that’s not entirely sure what to do with her.
