Hypnotic

Grade: B

I am always grateful for websites like salon.com that have those “[title of movie: Ending Explained]” articles. In the case of Hypnotic, I don’t just want to know about the ending – I’d like a “Hypnotic: Movie Explained” piece. It is such a dizzying labyrinth of invention, that it’s easy to forgive the excessive beans in the soup.

Director Robert Rodriguez’s credits include Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, The Faculty, the Spy Kids films, and Sin City – all released in 2005 or earlier. I hadn’t heard from him in a while, so it was a happy surprise to see him back, directing something like this. Hypnotic opens with Ben Affleck – as Danny Rourke, a detective in Austin – recounting to his therapist the story of his young daughter’s abduction at a public park. The kidnapper has no recollection of doing this, and doesn’t know where she is. Rourke is then called into work on an assignment – staking out a bank that they heard – via an anonymous 911 call – will be robbed soon.

Knowing what I know now, I laugh at how little I’ve told you above. What I thought was going to be our MacGuffin turns out to be a) not quite what it appears, and b) just a small puzzle piece. I first thought the movie was going to be a straight-up crime thriller – and it was, for a little while. Then a science fiction subplot gets layered in featuring elements of hypnosis, simulation, and memory. There are twists, turns, and reveals that make the opening scenes feel like a drop in the bucket. Have I mentioned that the film is just an hour and 32 minutes?

Ben Affleck does well playing characters who seemingly are being played, but he is smarter and more resourceful than he lets on – and he’s got tricks up his sleeve. I’m thinking back to Deep Water, Gone Girl, and Reindeer Games. Alice Braga is tough, sweet, and memorable as…there’s not a thing that I can say without either spoiling too much, or not telling enough – but her character’s name is Diana, and she’s great. William Fichtner is positively creepy. He’s a villain, but not in the ways we initially think.

The characters are constantly explaining everything to each other, right up to the last couple of minutes. I am recommending Hypnotic, because it has imagination. It has creativity. I’m not sure all of it holds water. I was confused and overwhelmed, but I was entertained.

Grade: B