Edinburgh International Film Festival

In Death Defying Acts, the Harry Houdini film by Gillian Armstrong, the boundaries of love and betrayal are explored to create an action packed take on the classic love story. Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) comes to 1920s Edinburgh, Scotland, to perform his death defying stunts and magic tricks for the Scottish capital. While there his longing for peace concerning the death of his beloved mother reaches a head, and he declares publically that he will give $10,000 to any medium or psychic that can tell him the last words spoken to him by his mother. No one knows, except Harry, what she said to him as she lay dying. Enter Mary (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a trickster who manufactures fortunes via theft and forgery to obtain money to help herself and her young daughter, Benji, to survive. After trying desperately to discover Harry’s secret, and being discovered snooping around his hotel room by Houdini himself, Mary discovers a new and disturbing attraction between herself and Harry has begun, and must endeavor to not get wrapped up into it herself.
Death Defying Acts is a fun and adventurous film, traveling along the story line at a good and entertaining speed. There are no slow and tedious scenes in the film, and the acting is supurb. The parts of the film that were filmed on site in Edinburgh are very well done, and make the 1920s look of the city in the film very believable. I enjoyed this film very much, and therefore give the film a four and a half star rating.