Death Defying Acts

7/7/2014

Houdini Affairs of the Heart and Head. Death Defying Acts is directed by Gillian Armstrong and written by Tony Grisoni and Brian Ward. It stars Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Timothy Spall and Saoirse Ronan. Music is by Cezary Skubiszewski and cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos. Not a biopic of Harry Houdini, but an episode in his life, Death Defying Acts (a bum steer of a title) is lukewarm across the board. Story charts the years after the death of Houdini’s mother, where he travels to 1920s Edinburgh and falls in with Psychic Tricksters Mary (Jones) and Benji McGarvie (Ronan), a mother and daughter team who spy an opportunity to prise a cash reward offered by the great escapologist. What is intended to be a searching examination of Houdini, his mental fragility, hang-ups,

5/11/2025

**_Part factual, part fictional accounting of Houdini’s final months in 1926_** The showman (Guy Pearce) visits Edinburgh, Scotland, where he meets a psychic woman and her daughter, who are out to con him (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Saoirse Ronan). Timothy Spall is on hand as Harry’s protective tour manager. "Death Defying Acts” (2007) is not a biopic of Houdini, but rather historical fiction, aka ‘faction.’ Assuming Harry was faithful to his beloved Bessie, it’s offensive to have him romancing a fake spiritualist. All we have are a few words in a diary and no physical evidence of any such encounters. Walking a woman to a carriage, as was witnessed, doesn’t mean much; after all, he was an actor with twinkling eyes and one of the most famous people of the era. On the other hand, it’s no