Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageDeath Defying Acts (2007)
Director: Gillian Armstrong
Movie review
From Time Out London
Never more than mildly distracting, this wayward drama of romantic and psychological intrigue from the director of ‘Charlotte Gray’ offers an episode in the life of Harry Houdini: a 1926 trip to Edinburgh in the difficult years following the death of his mother.But unlike in ‘The Prestige’ or ‘The Illusionist’ we’re not asked to wonder at stage acts. Instead our perspective is that of mother-and-daughter tricksters Mary (Catherine Zeta Jones) and Benji McGarvie (Saoirse Ronan), who scrape a living by appearing to have psychic powers and spot an opportunity when Houdini (Guy Pearce) arrives in town offering a reward to anyone who can channel his mother’s last words. And so we’re treated to Houdini’s multiple hang-ups with his mother, fame and intimacy.
None of the cast shine, although Ronan shows promise after ‘Atonement’ and Timothy Spall is passable as Houdini’s manager. Pearce never makes his Houdini seem anything more than a little troubled and Zeta Jones’s flat foil doesn’t help matters. All in all, it’s a bit of a snore that falls back on romance when all else fails.
Author: Dave Calhoun
Time Out London Issue 1981 August 7 - 13, 2008
User reviews of this film
-
- Trevor Bevan said...
- Posted on Jul 11 2009 22:30 Zeta Jones and Guy Pearce have a romance and yet these tow actors have absolutely no chemistry. The story hangs together with a series of obscure jerks from one scene to another. The plot is so thin that one costantly tries to guess which way the story is supposed to go. Timothy Spall is unsure of his role and the whole film is prevented from being a flop, in my opinion, by the excellent performance of Saoirse Ronan.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Gillian Armstrong
Cast: Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Saoirse Ronan
Rated: PG
Duration: 96 mins
UK Release: Aug 8 2008
US Release: Jul 18 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now