We’ve seen quite a few “magic” movies of late that include The Prestige and The Illusionist, both thoroughly entertaining movies. Now it’s turn for the legendary Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) to once again take his position on the silver screen and this time showcasing the alleged romance that he had with an English psychic Mary McGarvie (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

Allegedly this romance took place during one of Houdini’s tours in Europe, more specifically in Edinburgh Scotland. Unlike the other two movies which focuses quite heavily on the so called magic, Death Defying Acts is more so a drama and of course, Houdini’s obsession with attempting to speak to his deceased mother.

In Edinburgh, Houdini meets and romances McGarvie, a con artist who he believes can speak with his mother and to compound the situation, her daughter Benji (Saoirse Ronan) becomes quite jealous of the relationship her mother is having. The problem with the story is McGarvie and unlike The Illusionist which left the viewer guessing whether it was real or not, you know from the get go that this so called psychic has no real abilities whatsoever.

The actors do their best to portray the characters the cinematography and costumes really captures the era quite well, it's just a shame about the story. Although Zeta-Jones and Pearce are the highlight of the film, Ronan as Benji is a joy to watch as this almost Oliver-esq child sees the bigger picture than her mother trying to con and Houdini with his false romance. It's just a shame that there was no "real" magic in this production.

The transfer to Blu-ray is good with muted colours and sharp images that only highlight the early 20th century. The audio is good but there are no stand out scenes that make use of the surround sound, apart from the sometimes powerful soundtrack. It's just a shame that we don't have any special features on the Blu-ray version!

Definitely worth a rent to see what Houdini is all about!