Strange daze indeed
Tired of films that play it safe, Scotland’s lovable rogue James McAvoy is out to shock, thrill and disgust movie-goers, writes James Mottram
JAMES McAVOY IS on a tightrope. Not literally, of course. The Scottish-born star of Atonement and The Last King of Scotland hasn’t suddenly added circus stunts to his repertoire. But right now he’s working on some of the most dangerous projects of his career – without the proverbial safety net.
“A lot of what’s happening now, it’s a very safe time in film,” he sighs, when we meet in London’s Knightsbridge. “Less so on television. But it’s a very safe time in film – unless you’re Quentin Tarantino or Danny Boyle.”
So it’s easy to see why McAvoy, 34, has just made Trance, his first film with Boyle, the director fresh from orchestrating last year’s London Olympics opening ceremony. McAvoy sums up the experience in a way typical of his easy-going, colloquial manner.
“It was mental,” he grins, through a thick sprawl of facial hair. Written by John Hodge, Boyle’s writer on Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, the film is a mind-bending thriller set in the world of hypnosis.
McAvoy plays Simon, a trusted employee at a prestigious London auctioneering house.
When he gets involved with a criminal gang (led by a charismatic Vincent Cassel), he becomes central in a plot to steal a Goya painting mid-way through an auction.