Death Defying Acts (2007) Movie Review, Trailer and Poster

Australia, UK, Ireland, Scotland 2007
Director: Gillian Armstrong
Cast: Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Saoirse Ronan, Timothy Spall, Raymond Griffiths
Rating: PG
Release Date: 11 July 2008
Running Time: 1 hour 37 minutes

The Movie Review

Long before magicians are rapidly increasingly famous like now, in the early 20th century, there was already a man that inpsired many future magicians, his name is Harry Houdini. He's so inspiring that probably earn the similar status with Bruce Lee or Shaw Brothers in the action kung fu movie world. There was even a song by Kon Kan "I wanna be like Harry Houdini". In the magic world, it is very common for Houdini or other less famous magicians to be surrounded by mystery, however Houdini might had a different one, because it's personal to him, a mystery surrounded the spirit of his mother and her last dying word.


DEATH DEFYING ACTS
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So who is this guy anyway? That's the question that you would not get from this movie, or at least just a tiny fraction of it. This drama movie tries to picture Houdini's final show and the tragedy around it. It's a biopic/biography really, but only based on a few chapters of Houdini's life.

In 1926, Houdini is going to hold his last show in Montreal, but he decides to make a stop and go to Edinburgh, Scotland. Houdini by that time is in grief because of the loss of his beloved mother. On his tour, Houdini actually has his own agenda, to find a true séance/paranormal that could re-meet him with his mother's soul. He holds some sort of competition concerning his mission with a prize of 10,000 dollars, but then he finds only lies. One of the contestants is a single parent named Mary with her daughter Benji, which are the natives of Edinburgh who also make a living performing on stage as paranormal, while she is actually just another con artist. When Mary meets Houdini, something nice going on between them, unfortunately, the things between them are not just nice but also full of hidden motives.

Death Defying Acts although a movie about the famous magician, but don't expect to see something thrilling like the ones that we could find in The Prestige (2006), where we are shown many magic tricks and the fatal danger of it. In DDA, there is only one trick of Houdini to be enjoyed, this is mostly because DDA falls to the Drama genre. It gives the audience a bit in-depth character development and the real life that Houdini was having along with people around him. So this is a movie to be enjoyed from the dialogue and the storyline.

Are they enjoyable? Yes and no. The chemistry between Catherine and Pearce is not that bad, but their charm, could made me overlook it. However critical acclaim should go to children actor Saoirse Ronan for playing her part so brilliantly, and shines even more than Catherine Zeta-Jones or Guy Pearce. Funny thing is, the chemistry between the little Saoirse and Timothy Spall (Houdini's assistent, Mr. sugarman) is cute. She could be the star of the future for sure. The pace of the movie is steady and filled with good scenes, which means that it won't make you bore. However, just as everything simply falls to the right place, that's everything to it, there is no single special scene that would make me awestruck. It's not because that they're clichés, but because the mystery and the heartwarming/tragic point (two of Drama's common point) are wallpaper thin and far from being memorable. We simply see Houdini and Mary and Benji, we are not attached or feel sympathy with them. No emotional involvement whatsoever.

Death Defying Acts is simply and merely good. It needs much more tricks or acts to make it a great and memorable movie.

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com