Trance (2013) uses hypnosis as a thriller device, not as a realistic portrait of clinical hypnosis. It gets a few broad ideas right — such as that hypnosis is associated with focused attention, suggestion, memory, and imagination — but it strongly exaggerates what hypnosis can do. The movie treats hypnosis like a near-magical tool for instant access to hidden memories, total control, and reliable behavior change, which is not how hypnosis works in real life.
Overall accuracy rating: 3/10
What the movie gets right vs. wrong
Broadly accurate ideas
Hypnosis can involve focused attention and absorbed concentration.
People under hypnosis can often respond to suggestion more readily than usual.
Hypnotic imagery can feel very vivid.
Hypnosis can sometimes help with stress, pain, habits, and some symptoms in a therapeutic setting.
Major inaccuracies
Hypnosis is not mind control.
Hypnosis does not force people to reveal hidden truths.
It does not reliably recover exact lost memories.
It does not produce obedient, programmable “sleepwalk” behavior” on demand.
Post-hypnotic suggestion is much narrower and less powerful than movies suggest.
A hypnotized person is not unconscious and usually remains aware of what is happening, at least to some degree.
Hypnosis-related scenes in Trance and accuracy ratings
Below I’m focusing on the major hypnosis-related moments and the way the film uses hypnosis. Since different viewers may count some sequences slightly differently, I’m grouping the scenes by function.
1) The stage hypnosis opening and setup
What happens:
The film establishes Simon as an auction-house employee who also works as a stage hypnotist. The stage show presents hypnosis as something dramatic, quick, and highly controllable.
Accuracy: 5/10
What’s accurate:
Stage hypnosis does rely on suggestibility, social pressure, expectation, and performance context.
It is common for stage hypnotists to create the impression of extraordinary control through well-chosen volunteers, rapid pacing, and theatrical framing.
What’s inaccurate:
The movie leans into the idea that hypnosis is an almost effortless switch that can fully override a person’s normal judgment.
Real stage hypnosis is far less absolute than what is shown. Volunteers are not usually “transformed” into remote-controlled people.
Verdict:
This is the most believable part of the film’s hypnosis portrayal, though still stylized.
2) The heist planning / “suggestion as programming” idea
What happens:
The plot depends on hypnosis being used to place a plan or instruction into a person’s mind so it can later be triggered.
Accuracy: 2/10
What’s accurate:
Post-hypnotic suggestion is a real phenomenon.
People can sometimes carry out a suggested action later, especially if it is simple and fits their goals or expectations.
What’s inaccurate:
The movie treats suggestion like a hidden command that guarantees later execution.
Real post-hypnotic suggestions are usually limited, dependent on context, and not reliable in the way shown.
Hypnosis does not make someone into a perfect sleeper agent.
Here’s a breakdown of the hypnosis / hypnotherapy scenes in Trance (2013), focused on Simon, Elizabeth, and how the film uses hypnosis as both a plot device and a source of ambiguity.
What hypnosis does in the story
In Trance, Simon is an art auctioneer involved in a painting heist. After he is hit on the head, he develops amnesia and cannot remember where he hid the stolen Goya painting. The thieves then bring in Elizabeth Lamb, a hypnotherapist, to help recover the memory. This is the central mechanism of the film’s hypnosis scenes. Hypnosis is treated as clinically possible but ethically dangerous, and the movie leans hard into that tension.
Key hypnosis scenes, step by step
1) Elizabeth is brought in to recover Simon’s memory
The thieves first try torture and intimidation, but Simon still cannot recall where painting is. They hire Elizabeth, who begins probing Simon’s mind through hypnosis. The early sessions are framed as professional memory recovery, but Elizabeth quickly realizes Simon is hiding more than he admits.
2) Simon’s “lost keys” story is a cover
Simon initially tells Elizabeth he’s looking for lost keys, using a false story to manipulate her into helping him. She sees through the lie and forces the thieves into a more complicated arrangement. This is one of the film’s first major hypnosis-linked reversals: the hypnotherapist is not being tricked for long.
3) The painting memory emerges under hypnosis
In one session, Simon recalls that during the heist he cut the painting from its frame and hid it in his suit. This is a key breakthrough: hypnosis begins by uncovering fragments, not the full truth. The film presents memory as something layered, unstable, and susceptible to suggestion.
4) Elizabeth uses hypnosis to steer Simon’s emotions
As the sessions continue, Elizabeth notices Simon is obsessed with her. The film identifies this as transference—a psychological projection in which the patient transfers feelings onto the therapist. Elizabeth then uses that emotional vulnerability to manipulate him, calming his jealousy and triggering his desire so she can extract the painting’s location.
5) The imagined “Franck wants to kill you” scenario
A major hypnosis sequence involves Elizabeth guiding Simon through an imagined narrative in which Franck is trying to kill him. This is how she gets him to reveal the painting’s location. The movie deliberately blurs whether what we’re seeing is real hypnosis, fantasy, or a constructed mental space, which is part of its suspense strategy.
6) Simon’s memory of Elizabeth is erased
A major twist is that Elizabeth and Simon previously had a relationship. Because Simon had become abusive, Elizabeth used hypnosis to make him forget her and their relationship. She also arranged for him to steal the painting as revenge. This is the film’s darkest hypnosis beat: hypnosis is used not just to recover memory, but to delete it.
7) Simon confuses another woman with Elizabeth
After Simon is hit again and his memories destabilize, he mistakes an innocent bystander for Elizabeth and kills her. This is tied to his fractured state and the partial return of buried memories. The scene underscores the film’s theme that memory loss does not create innocence; it can amplify violence and confusion.
8) The “erase everything” ending choice
Near the end, Elizabeth leaves behind a recording/app-like mechanism that can either help Franck recover the truth or erase Elizabeth and the entire ordeal from memory. The choice between remembering and forgetting becomes the film’s final psychological and moral test.
What the film is saying about hypnosis
Trance treats hypnosis as:
a tool for recovering suppressed memory
a means of manipulation
a weapon for revenge
a symbol of control and identity loss
The film’s central idea is that identity is fragile, and hypnosis exposes how easily memory, desire, and self-image can be reshaped. The featurette notes that a small portion of the population is highly suggestible, and the movie builds Simon around that idea.
Short version
If you want the simplest breakdown:
Simon is hypnotized to recover the stolen painting
Elizabeth uses hypnosis to exploit his emotional vulnerability
His memories of Elizabeth are suppressed because of their past relationship
The hypnosis scenes blur truth, fantasy, and manipulation
The film ends by making memory itself the final battleground