Danny Boyle is a trickster spirit.

That's the only explanation for the way he's been able to morph from one filmmaker into another, covering a wide range of subject matter and tone, and it looks like he's pushing into some strange new territory with his new film "Trance," which just got a new red-band trailer today.  I'm not sure when the first trailer came out, but I somehow missed it completely.

After seeing the red-band trailer today?  I'm in.  Let's see it now.

He's working with his longtime screenwriting collaborator John Hodge again, and it looks like a mystery thriller with a crazy psychological component.  James McAvoy plays an auctioneer who works with big-ticket art items.  One painting in particular goes missing, and people are convinced the answer to what happened is locked inside McAvoy's head.  He says he doesn't remember, and he agrees to allow a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) to try to help him unlock the secret.

Based on the trailer, it looks like McAvoy arranged to steal the painting with Cassel's character, and that it's Cassel who is determined to crack the secret about the painting's location.  The imagery in the trailer is dense and sensual, and I must say, if I have to be hypnotized and seduced by a femme fatale in a neo-noir thriller, Rosario Dawson would be at the top of the list of people who could make that happen.

The trailer is red-banded for a reason.  There's a horrifying bit of violence in the middle of the trailer, there's some suggestive sexual imagery, and then there's that ending… oh, my.  I'm going to guess that's not meant to be reality, but it is an unforgettable shot, and if Boyle's going to give us a film full of that, then this could be a very exciting addition to his body of work.

"Trance" is set for limited release April 5, 2013.

Drew McWeeny
Film Editor

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A respected critic and commentator for fifteen years, Drew McWeeny helped create the online film community as "Moriarty" at Ain't It Cool News, and now proudly leads two budding Film Nerds in their ongoing movie education.