Just yesterday we learned of a possible March U.K. release date for director Danny Boyle’s upcoming thriller Trance, and today the first official images from the film have landed online.  The story centers on an art heist that goes sideways when its mastermind (James McAvoy) gets amnesia and can’t remember where he stashed the loot.  Vincent Cassel co-stars as mob boss leading the heist gang, and Rosario Dawson plays a hypnotist who tries to get the memories out of McAvoy’s character.  Boyle notes that the film isn’t a straightforward thriller, and describes it as an “updated noir” that’s more emotionally charged than previous entries in the genre.  There also appears to be a love triangle aspect involving the three lead characters.Hit the jump to check out the images and to read a few quotes from Boyle regarding the pic.  The film is reportedly set for release on March 27, 2013 in the U.K. [Update: The folks at Pathe Productions Limited have reached out to us to confirm the U.K. release date.]Speaking with USA Today (which also provided the images), Boyle spoke about the film’s tone:

“It begins like [a thriller].  But it takes the idea of a stolen painting and develops into something sleeker and more psychological, with twists and turns.”

The director also talked about his aim with the pic’s genre:

“I wanted to do an updated noir, give it a contemporary spin in terms of emotion," adds Boyle, determined to not reveal too much. "Noir is usually cold. I wanted it to be more emotionally charged. It's the first time I put a woman at the heart of a movie."

Here's the official synopsis (via The Film Stage):

TRANCE, directed by Oscar®-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) and co-written by Oscar®-nominated long term collaborator John Hodge (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting) is a seductive and enigmatic thriller starring James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson.

Fine art auctioneer Simon (McAvoy), in league with a gang led by underworld boss Franck (Cassel), plots the audacious theft of a masterpiece by Goya from a major public auction. When Simon double-crosses the gang during the robbery, Franck retaliates violently and knocks him unconscious.

In the aftermath of the heist, Simon sticks stubbornly – and perhaps shrewdly – to his claim that the violent trauma has left him with no memory of where he stashed the artwork.

Unable to coerce the painting’s location from Simon, Franck and his associates reluctantly join forces with a charismatic hypnotherapist (Dawson) in a bid to get him to talk. But as they journey deeper into Simon’s jumbled psyche the boundaries between reality and hypnotic suggestion begin to blur and the stakes rise faster and far more dangerously than any of the players could have anticipated.