Hypnotic was released in May 2023 and was directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film starred Ben Affleck who co-wrote the movie with Rodriguez; however, the creative collaboration left the audience with an unsatisfying product. The film’s mix of family drama and detective noir with science fiction mind games might sound interesting, but the execution falls short.
Story and Structure
The movie opens with the Austin Police Department detective, Danny Rourke, grappling with the grief of losing his 6-year old daughter Minnie three years prior. He lives with guilt and memories of Minnie, and gets called to a bank where a strange robbery is taking place. A man named Lev Dellrayne is, through whispering and suggestion, hypnotizing bank employees, civilians, and even police to do his bidding.
One of the bank’s safety deposit boxes contains a picture of Rourke’s daughter with the words, “Find Lev Dellrayne” written on it. This bizarre clue kicks off a highly twisted investigation that rapidly shatters reality.
What ultimately becomes part of the pursuing investigation leads Rourke to Diana Cruz, a “Hypnotic” and fortune teller who escaped from an elusive agency called The Division. Cruz explains that Lev is also a “Hypnotic” and tells Rourke about The Division’s powerful weapon, Domino.
Rourke and Cruz evading the law and navigating shifting landscapes of emerging threats and alliances is a fog blending everything together. A tangle of operatives from The Division, fake names, and blurred memories stack like a house of cards. The daughter, Minnie, is a potent Hypnotic construct who has been hiding in plain sight. The truth is that everything, including Danny, is an elaborate ruse to draw her out.
In the dramatic full circle final act, Danny restores his memories, confronts The Division agents, and reclaims his family only to find out that Lev survives by identity swapping his old one with a surrogate. The viewer is left trembling and unmoored with the equilibrium of control and free will.
Key Performances
Veteran actor Ben Affleck channels a haunted detective, Danny Rourke, who is submerged into a world of unearthing layered truths and floating shifting alliances. His character’s commanding presence infuses weary gravitas, blending the chaos to a center of equilibrium.
Braga characterizes Diana Cruz, a psychic who embodies quiet strength with riveted emotional depth. Empowering them is the emotional foundation that anchors the unfurling kaleidoscope of berserk.
Fichtner takes on the role of Lev Dellrayne, the unsettling and sinister mind wholitzer. He endows Lev with a sly, twisting fellow.
Other supporting actors include J.D. Pardo and Hala Finley. They interact with the main characters, but their contributions sometimes feel unexplored and shallow.
Stylistic and Visual Aspects
As editor and writer, and with roles such as cinematographer, Rodriguez gives leans to Hypnotic a fast pace visually. This makes the film’s 94 minute length feel closer to 60, as the film never lingers on reveals and continuously builds suspense.
However, the brisk pacing in some areas leads to shallow character motivations and emotions that feel disconnected to the audience.
Ambition and Theme
As with many Rodriguez films, Hypnotic deals with identity, memory, control and free will. The film challenges reality, and calls into question the extent to which perception can be manipulated and memory distorted.
As a blend of Hitchcock, Rodriguez describes it as ‘a Hitchcock thriller on steroids’ which is a deeply layered psychological thriller riddled with conspiracy. The film is a detective thriller, turning into sci-fi conspiracy, draped in a mythical resurrection.
The thought of a daughter as a weapon of unimaginable value, pursued by multiple factions is deeply emotional and expands the detective genre into realms that are speculative and metaphysical, brittle logic notwithstanding.
Reception and Box Office
THe response to hypnote was a blend of negativity and mixture:
It opened domestically with modest returns, and it was underperformed with resonance and box office receipts with lack of word of mouth.
It grossed just over 16 million with a 65 million dollar budget, making this a poor box office performer for Affleck and Rodriguez.
Rotten Tomatoes shows a 32% critics score while the audience holds a score of 62% showing some appreciation for the reviews.
Critics pointed to the thereceit issues with the the film, some citing the promising ideas but lacking in execution, while in kinder reviews, the reviewed praised the attempt to surprise and kinetic energy.
Strengths and Shortcomings
Strengths
Visual pace and mood: Rodriguez kept the visuals engaging and maintained the momentum through with a distinct sense of pace.
Twist reveal: The daughter plays the part of a macguffin, and her parting was as an emotional and indeed psychic revelation.
Ambitious premise: Hypnotic power, altered reality, and mind control are the actions in the film, and those ideas reach deeply.
Weaknesses
The focus on backstory twists is too much, and as focus is drowned, emotion is shallow in execution.
Developing under desired breadth leads to shallow emotional stakes, and while battle stakes are ambitious.
“Thin mythology: the psychic powers and division mechanics are arbitrary and lack omnipresent logic coherence.”
“Final thoughts”
“Hypnotic” is an unorthodox attempt: serving as a genreChanging psychological thriller that leans towards speculative science fiction. It teeters towards picking itself up, but more often than not, it stumbles while trying to grapple with its own multi-layered elements. The movie strives to make a puzzle-box energizing, but more often than not, it is too clever for its own good and not clear enough.
“Hypnotic” is a brain-twister that provides unrelenting mental stimulation, but for those who prefer thrillers based around clear narratives and anchored in relatable emotions, the experience may leave one feeling more ‘hypnotized’ than actually “satisfied.”
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