In Danny Boyle’s latest thriller, James McAvoy plays Simon, an art auctioneer who helps a group of thugs steal a $25 million Goya painting in a daring heist. Unfortunately, the crew’s leader Frank (Vincent Cassel) knocks Simon unconscious during the robbery and when Simon wakes up, he has forgotten that he stole the painting from the men he persuaded to steal it. After torturing Simon fails to go anywhere, Franck suggests Simon go see a hypnotherapist, and even though Simon tries to mask his real intentions, Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) figures out something is up.
After she inserts herself into the gang, the real craziness begins. Boyle, whose directorial skills were dazzling in movies like Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and 127 Hours, doesn’t throw his bag of tricks at the audience. Even in his restraint, he plays with extreme colors, off-kilter angles, and explicit, surprising images. The latter works quite well in both torture and trance scenes, but, in concert with one of screenwriter John Hodge’s wackier ideas, it also provides the perviest plot-twist of the year.
It works thematically, for sure, but, well, it’s just a bit too hairy for me. I’ll say no more, except for: The movie is great fun, even if it doesn’t stick with you like Boyle’s classics.
