Death Defying Acts (Scr - 2007)
During Harry Houdini’s tour of Britain in 1926, the master escapologist enters into a passionate affair with a Scottish psychic. The psychic and her daughter attempt to con Houdini during a highly publicized séance to contact his mother whose death has haunted him for many years. However all does not go to plan. Starring Guy Pearce & Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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imdb infoWe often speak of the magic of the movies, of their sheer power to transport us, to astonish and to challenge the limits of what we believe to be possible. So what greater subject for a film than one of the greatest magicians the world has ever known? In Death Defying Acts, acclaimed director Gillian Armstrong – whose films consistently portray unique individuals possessed of amazing strength of will – tells a spirited romantic tale about Harry Houdini and his fleeting connection with a struggling Scottish con artist. The film features Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones as two people wedded by their shared respect for sleight of hand but divided by circumstance, who suddenly find themselves in the throes of an impossible love.

It is 1926. Houdini (a resonant performance by Pearce) is an international superstar. His reality-bending exploits – he escapes death by drowning, time and time again – have captured the imagination of young and old around the world. But behind his brave smile and alluring charm, Houdini is tortured. His fame isolates him and makes him vulnerable. He is also consumed by regret over missing his beloved mother’s last words. On a tour in Scotland, he announces that his next great feat will be nothing less than proving the existence of an afterlife. His lucrative ten-thousand-dollar reward for anyone who can contact his mother from beyond the grave entices a wide and wacky array of would-be mystics and so-called spiritualists. It also catches the attention of a stunning if rather conniving psychic named Mary McGregor (a smouldering, soulful Zeta-Jones), who is accompanied everywhere by her loyal sidekick and impish daughter, Benji (Saoirse Ronan).

To give away more would be like telling how magicians pull rabbits out of hats. Death Defying Acts wraps you in its powerful story of sudden, instantaneous love, which blossoms despite sadness, fear and doubt, and keeps you spellbound until the film’s wonderfully moving final moments. Ronan’s two appearances in this year’s Festival (she also appears in Atonement) mark her as an exciting, versatile young talent. Pearce and Zeta-Jones shine in their fully realized and demanding roles; these are characters with rich and complex histories. World-weary, they are completely taken aback by the sudden feelings they share. Armstrong once again brings her deft sense of beauty and storytelling to the screen, creating a fairytale world full of passion and enchantment. Toronto International Film Festival 2007
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