Death Defying Acts

Rating:

* *

Verdict:

A slow and contrived, yet visually beautiful attempt at romance and magic.

Death Defying Acts

follows in the footsteps of previous period magician films such as

The Prestige

and

The Illusionist

and is helmed by celebrated Australian director Gillian Armstrong (

My Brilliant Career, Little Women

).

The film stars another Aussie, Guy Pearce, as the talented and troubled escapologist Harry Houdini who, in an attempt to contact his dead mother, has announced a competition challenging so-called psychics and spiritualists to recall her final words.

His intention is to prove psychics are nothing more than con-people, but underneath the bravo he is desperate to be reunited spiritually with his mother.

On tour in Edinburgh, Houdini comes into contact with Scottish psychic Mary McGarvie (Catherine  Zeta-Jones) and her daughter Benji (Atonement's Saoirse Ronan), who together pull off a fake psychic show at a local theatre. Desperate for money and keen for the $10,000 on offer, Mary takes Houdini up on his challenge. As the con-woman attempts to trick the magician, the inevitable happens and they begin to fall in love.

This plot sounds interesting, filled with deceit, magic, love and guilt, but while the film's attention to visual detail is immaculate, the plot feels decidedly empty and predictable.

Mary has to work hard at convincing Houdini she has a clairvoyant talent. That's the easy part though:  no matter how hard the two of them try, they can't convince the audience that they are a couple in love, or at least in lust. Pearce is as intense as usual, but somewhat restrained on this outing, and Zeta-Jones is miscast, bringing very little depth to her character.

There is no doubt this film looks stunning, captures the 1920s period beautifully and is creative in its approach to story-telling, but the problem is it is also slow, dull and feels much longer than its 97 minute duration.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast:

Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones,  Timothy Spall, Saoirse Ronan

Director:

Gillian Armstrong

Running time:

97 mins

Rating:

PG (Supernatural Themes)

Screening:

Rialto and Hoyts Cinemas