HYPNOTIC
Theatrical release: August 23, 2023
Duration: 1h30
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Main actors: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, JD Pardo
Synopsis: Determined to find his daughter, Detective Danny Rourke investigates a series of robberies that could be linked to her disappearance. But the criminals he pursues are much more Machiavellian than he imagined: they hypnotize innocent people into committing crimes against their will. No one seems safe. To outsmart them, Rourke will have to be wary of everyone...
Robert Rodriguez is a director who will have had his hour of glory. Having won several awards with his short film Bedhead in 1990, he directed his first feature film El Mariachi who will be entitled to his continuation, Desperado. This film, with the main role Antonio Bandera , a mix of Western and action. It is in this film that we will see Quentin Tarantino appear in a cameo.
But Quentin Tarantino will not just make a cameo in the film, since a year later, in 1996, he will collaborate with Rodriguez, writing the screenplay for One Night in Hell and will even be one of the two main roles. Blending the horror and action genres, this film tells the story of two criminal brothers who take a family hostage. They will stop one evening at a bar for a break. But what they don't know is that the bar is the haunt of people with special abilities.
Rodriguez would later work again with Quentin Tarantino imitating the style Grindhouse in their respective feature films Boulevard of Death And Planet Terror. The two films have one thing in common, their style. Indeed, before the advent of digital technology in the 2000s, all films were shot on film. And it happened that this film aged poorly over time and showed signs of wear on the screen. It is this effect of premature aging that Rodriguez and Tarantino each reproduce in their films. A style that gives a certain character and authenticity that we rarely find in cinema today. This film is divided into two parts, the first being more of a heist film and the second part going into fantasy.
Rodriguez's career would continue to soar, and in the same style as A Night in Hell, with the adaptation of the fake Machete trailer into a feature film (2010) and its sequel Machete Kills (2014). Passionate about comics, he will also be at the origin of the feature film Sin City which is the adaptation of the comic strip of the same name, by Frank Miller.
It was at the time of these films that Rodriguez would display all of his genius. Subsequently, none of his films will be able to match this golden age when the director was full of ideas.
And that’s why I would like to come back to Hypnotic. This film is one of those that goes a bit out of the Rodriguez style to go down a path that doesn't usually resemble him. The trailers set the tone, and we could pretend to see an interesting concept in the cinema.
The film could have been a nice surprise if it hadn't been executed a little too quickly. Unfortunately, events happen much too quickly for us to have time to digest the explanations of the previous scene. Because there are many twists, sometimes a little too much, to the point that some of the dialogues which follow turn into ridiculous, perhaps due to the short length of the film (1h35), which does not allow it to breathe. It seems like some shots are missing.
Some spectators could therefore get lost in a labyrinthine story with many twists and turns and they must stay firmly attached to their seats to understand everything.
And to fully understand everything, you have to keep your ears open and your mind open. Hypnosis as we know it in life, supposes supernatural powers in this film. The way in which Rodriguez treats hypnosis with his rich universe certainly does not prevent the film from giving a sometimes naardesque tone.
As for the actors, we can find Ben Affleck And Alice Braga, as well as William Fichtner . Even if Ben Affleck's character seems to have a little depth, the roles of Alice Braga and William Fichtner were not entitled to the same treatment. Certain dialogues sometimes make them a little too lucid about what is happening (especially Danny Rouke) while leaving the viewer waiting.
It's a shame, because there was potential but it would have required more careful thought.
