Directed by Aussie Gillian Armstrong, who was on hand to give us a chat about the film before the screening, Death Defying Acts gives us the fictional story of a run-in Harry Houdini (played by Guy Pearce) had with a Scottish con artist, Mary Macgregor (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) and her daughter, Benji. Harry has come to Edinburgh to perform his tricks and has set a challenge to all seers and clairvoyants, worth $10,000, if they can confirm the last words spoke by his mother on her death bed. Mary sees dollars signs and is confident she can con Harry out of the money. What follows is pretty standard fare but it is done very refreshingly, I thought, and I was captured by what is at heart a love story masquerading as a drama-thriller. Pearce and Zeta-Jones are bang-on, which certainly helps. The cinematography by Harris Zambarloukos is rich and velvety and gorgeous, perfect for the film. While Harry Houdini can't defy death in the end (which had some in the audience crying even!), the story of his amazing skills as a magician continue to feed us to this day, even when fictionalized.
My rating 8 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment