TEHRAN- English director Danny Boyle’s 2013 movie “Trance” was reviewed during a session at the Arasbaran Cultural Center in Tehran on Sunday. 

Iranian film critic Kurosh Jahed attended a screening of the film followed by a review session.

The story of “Trance” begins during a heist at an auction house, where thieves led by Franck seize a package, they believe contains a valuable painting. Simon Newton, the auctioneer and an unwitting inside man, attempts to thwart Franck but is knocked unconscious. Upon awakening, Simon discovers the package contains only an empty frame, revealing his betrayal as he had double-crossed Franck.

Desperate to recover the painting, the thieves kidnap Simon, but he suffers from amnesia due to the blow to his head and cannot recall its location. They enlist the help of a hypnotherapist, Elizabeth Lamb, to unlock Simon's memories. Under the pretense of seeking lost keys, Simon tries to manipulate her into revealing the painting’s whereabouts. However, Elizabeth quickly sees through his ruse, forcing the thieves to negotiate with her for a share of the painting's profit in exchange for her services.

As Elizabeth continues to hypnotize Simon, he reveals his backstory, including his gambling addiction that led him to ally with Franck for the heist in hopes of clearing his debts. In a pivotal session, Simon recalls cutting the painting from its frame and hiding it in his suit. Distracted by a text message while fleeing, he has a fragmented memory of being struck by a red car driven by Elizabeth, which he mistakenly believes to be true.

The layers of their relationship deepen as Elizabeth realizes Simon's obsession with her stems from a psychological phenomenon known as transference. To extract vital information, she agrees to seduce him. However, during their date, Simon withdraws emotionally, prompted by jealousy towards Franck, which Elizabeth uses to manipulate Simon further.

As Elizabeth delves into Simon’s psyche, she learns the painting's location but is soon captured by the thieves. In a tense climax, Simon and Franck go to retrieve the painting while the others threaten Elizabeth. When Franck’s distraction allows Simon to attack, he ultimately overpowers his captors.

In a twist of fate, Elizabeth confesses to Simon that they previously had a tumultuous relationship, marked by his possessiveness and abuse, which led her to erase his memories of her through hypnosis. The blow to Simon's head revived vague memories that ultimately turned fatal; he inadvertently killed an innocent woman he had mistaken for Elizabeth.

In the warehouse, Simon presents the painting to Elizabeth and, in a moment of chaos, douses the car with fuel, intending to destroy Franck. To save Franck, Elizabeth drives a truck into Simon, sending him and the car into a river, resulting in Simon's death while Franck survives.

Later, Franck receives an iPad from Elizabeth containing a video in which she discloses that she had made Simon steal the painting as revenge for his abuse. The text Simon received before the accident had instructed him to deliver the painting to her. Elizabeth presents Franck with a choice: seek her out and reclaim the painting or activate "Trance," an app that erases all memories of their entangled past, allowing him the option to remember or forget.

SAB/