Death Defying Acts (2007) More at IMDb Pro »

I am still wondering why this movie was made. It tells the fictional story of Mary, a single mother (Catherine Zeta Jones) who struggles to make a living as a psychic in a cabaret using her good looks, artful deceit and pick-pocketing skills more than actual psychic powers to entertain the working class crowds. She is assisted by her daughter, Benji (Saoirse Ronan from 'Atonement') whose main purpose seems to be to bombard us with the most redundant and annoying narration I've experienced. Mary and Benji make it a point to meet the great Houdini (played by Guy Pearce, so good in Memento) and gain financially from the encounter. Of course, what begins as deceit turns into true love. Never mind the wife at home and the fact that Mary lives in a grave yard.

This a misguided effort from Gillian Armstrong, an uneven director, whose best films, My Brilliant Career, High Tide and Hard to Handle, were too long ago to redeem her reputation after'Charlotte Grey'. She is not aided by the script which is actually worse than Brothers of the Head (Tony Grisoni) and the Interpreter (Brian Ward) who co-wrote.

Magician/illusionist stories are notoriously difficult to make interesting and Death Defying Acts is no exception.