John Noonan

You wait all day for a biopic to come out about one of the greatest directors in movie history and two trundle along at once.

In the blue corner, we have HBO’s controversial The Girl. Starring Toby Jones and Sienna Miller as Alfred Hitchcock and Vivian Leigh respectively and set mainly during the filming and aftermath of The Birds, it quickened many a pulse with its accusations of a predatory Hitchcock who walked all over his wife and thought nothing of a bit of forced sex with his leading lady. Now, ladies and gentlemen, in the red corner, we have a new competitor in the form of Hitchcock. Starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, as Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville, we follow the chubby maestro as he sets about trying to unleash his pinnacle film onto an unsuspecting public.

The tone of the movie is set in…

After becoming the Nation’s favourite after directing the Olympic opening ceremony, Danny Boyle returns to the big screen with British psychological thriller, Trance. James McAvoy plays Simon, a fine art auctioneer who falls into the hands of French gangster, Franck (Vincent Cassel). Helping Franck steal a piece of fine art, Simon ends up cracking his head open and forgetting where he left the painting. Silly Billy. To help spur his memory on, Franck books Simon a session with hypnotherapist, Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson).

What follows for the next 100 minutes, is a film that frustrates and fascinates in equal measure. There’s a real feel of Boyle’s earlier work at the beginning. An opening narration by McAvoy brings back fond memories of Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, whilst Boyle’s direction reminds us of the kinetic energy of Slumdog Millionaire.

The performances are all perfectly fine, with McAvoy playing Simon as…