Blending fact with fiction, this romantic drama is about the time that the world renowned superstar escapologist, Harry Houdini, arrives in Scotland on the last leg of his world tour and offers a fortune to any psychic who can tell him the last words of his late beloved mother. Rising to the challenge is a local clairvoyant and her young daughter who are confident that they can pull this off and get the money. This is a thoroughly enjoyable film with a genuine feel of the times. The performances by the four main actors are terrific. Guy Pierce is Houdini (this actor has never given a bad performance), Timothy Spall is his long suffering manager, the astonishingly beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones plays the clairvoyant, and Saoirse Ronan plays her daughter. Ronan was Oscar nominated for Atonement and continues to grow in talent. She reminds me of a young Maggie Smith (I can’t wait to see her in The Lovely Bones). Directed by Gillian Armstrong and written by Tony Grisoni and Brian Ward, Death Defying Acts is a very interesting film, always entertaining, and highly recommended. 

By Stanley Selwyn