Death Defying Acts

(2008)

Directed by

Gillian Armstrong

Review by Todd Plucknett

Death Defying Acts is an intriguing fictional account of the later life of renowned magician Harry Houdini. Directed by talented Australian director Gillian Armstrong and starring two excellent lead performers, the film looks very good on paper. The film is not quite up to its potential, but it is a fine film nonetheless.

The film takes place in 1926 England. Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) is a famous magician who travels around the country performing his well known escape tricks. He has money and plenty of followers, but there is something troubling him. He was not able to be with his mother when she died, so he decides to offer a reward of $10,000 to whoever can come into contact with his dead mother so Harry can know what her last words were. Having their sights set on that reward, con artist Mary McGarvie (Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones) and her daughter Benji (Saoirse Ronan) claim to be psychic to get closer to Houdini. The McGarvie’s plan works, except for the fact that Harry’s manager Sugarman (Timothy Spall) is very defensive and suspects that something is going on with these two ladies. Eventually, Harry and Mary grow close to each other and get involved in a romantic relationship, which only complicates things for both parties. This all comes together in a mildly satisfying manner, leading to Houdini’s inevitable, highly-speculated, and puzzling death.

The film is blessed with some truly wonderful actors. The always brilliant Guy Pearce plays the part of Houdini commendably. He really shined, not when he was doing the tricks, but when he was tapping into Houdini’s more human and troubled personality. And is it just me, or is he looking more and more like a Wahlberg these days? Catherine Zeta-Jones does not fit her role well. At no point is she that convincing as a thieving con artist in 1920s England. Also, her chemistry with Pearce is almost nonexistent. Saoirse Ronan, in her first role since her nomination for Atonement, gives the best performance in the film. She proves that her nomination was not at all a fluke, and that she can really act. Her role here is much different than her Briony role, and she is equally as convincing. Timothy Spall is always fun to watch, and he does not disappoint here.

The film’s finest quality, not surprisingly, is its technical and artistic achievements. Cezary Skubiszewski’s beautiful score really contributes to the overall effect of the film, and the art direction and costumes are gorgeous. The main problem with the film lies in the editing and the screenplay. The beginning portion of the movie is fast-moving and engaging, but then it just levels off and descends into a not so convincing romance. Also, the film ends much too abruptly. Honestly, it should have been about a half hour longer. The ending is supposed to leave the audience stunned, but it only leaves them unsatisfied and perplexed. I wanted to see more. The main problem with the script is that it is much too loose. Other films of this magician period piece genre, such as The Illusionist and The Prestige recently, were serious, which is really added to their appeal. Death Defying Acts, on the other hand, is not entirely serious and even moves toward silliness at times. If this film would have taken itself more seriously, which really should have started with the screenplay and the direction, it could have been a great and even thought-provoking movie. Instead, we just have to settle with it being significantly inferior to The Illusionist. It is still better and much more satisfying than the vastly overrated The Prestige, though. This film doesn’t insult the audience’s intelligence with a pretentious and manipulating mind trick in the end.

With all the potential in the world, Death Defying Acts cannot live up to expectations. Maybe that should have been established with the fact that it had almost no theatrical release. It is worth watching, though. It is beautiful and consistently interesting, but it is truly at its best when either Ronan is on screen or when the actual tricks are being performed, which doesn’t happen nearly enough. Armstrong has proved that she can make an excellent movie when she made Little Women, for example. This is not nearly as good as that film, but it is a modest achievement that deserves an audience. Its premise had infinite promise; if only the screenplay could have been as strong as the idea. After the two recent immensely popular films mentioned before, a film attempting this genre needs to be fantastic, but this is only decent. It could have and should have been great, though.

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