The odd but rather short lived fascination of the film industry, being its recent rollout of films focusing on the complex public and private lives of magicians, has not been particularly satisfying. “The Prestige” and “The Illusionist” dazzled as mesmerising and elegant entertainment, with a few tricks up their sleeves each, and proved to be moderate critical and commercial successes, that excelled in their technical achievements as well as their actors’ performances of rather fascinating characters. “Death Defying Acts” follows in the same vein, yet its mixture of fact and fiction, with uneasy romantic chemistry or tension and very little to warrant interest, and is far more bland achievement. It is a lightly entertaining and charming, not forgetting to mention that it is visually attractive, that tries, and fails, to instil a shred of life into its potentially arresting characters.

The great showman with an even greater disdain for phoney mediums, Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce), comes up with a plot that could both boost his publicity and state his scorn. He promises a large sum of money, $10, 000, to the person who could somehow manage to reiterate his mother’s dying words; which he in turn wrote down and hid them in a safe in a reputable bank. The gorgeous and exotically dressed Mary McGarvie (Catherine Zea-Jones), a fictional character created by the films writers, is one such con artist who sets her sights upon the reward. Her daughter, and tomboyish sidekick, Benji (Saoirse Ronan) is a thief who eavesdrops on others conversations or pickpockets, offering her stolen goods and words to her mother, who returns them to their rightful owner, disguising the trickery as indisputable magic.

Houdini meets Benji before he meets her mother, much to his enjoyment when she creeps her way into his dressing room, and to the annoyance of Houdini’s manager Mr. Sugarman (Timothy Spall). Upon meeting Mary, Houdini becomes besotted with her wit and charm, and Mary knows that even though there is no way she can match Houdini’s intelligence and knack for getting the better of fake psychics, she knows how far the power of seduction can take her. Inevitably, Houdini sees through her, and spends his time watching the clairvoyant Benji deceive with her instinctive prudence. As the three masters of deception weave their pretences with their seeking of what they truly want, each wanting something particular from each other, the story becomes all the more enchanting but offers little substance as it all unravels to a, negatively so, persuasive conclusion.

The power of illusion well at work, the integral aspects of the story pertaining to Houdini himself are diluted in order to make room for the less factual, more effortlessly entertaining diversions in the form of convoluted romantic suggestions and impracticalities – and its flaunting of its resulting one-dimensionality never occurs. The film, and its director, takes it all far too seriously, and in terms of the build up of the film, invention and imagination playing the largest role, it has very little right to take itself seriously at all. Yet, in all its seriousness, its tone never offers it any weight, rather over calculated wit. Draped in fine, exquisitely designed costumes, and set to a score that adjusts itself to suit the alteration of its characters’ thematic exploits, filmed with satisfactory cinematography adding to the films unforced grace, resulting in a technically well-designed film, only furthering the question pertaining to the almost-impossible balance of substance and packaging. Very often, films that manage to look gorgeous lack substance underneath it, and “Death Defying Acts” most definitely fits into the stereotypical mould despite nonconformist director Gillian Armstrong’s best efforts.

Stealing the show is the young Ronan, yet again, coming across as precious and wise beyond her years, only in “Death Defying Acts” her character is far gutsier and less infuriatingly naïve compared to her character in her breakthrough role in “Atonement.” Guy Pearce finally is allowed to show off a bit of his skill and sharp range, and his portrayal of a darker, edgier Houdini, one who uses his position in the spotlight to further his amusement in the shadows, is complex enough for one to call it one of his most finely tuned performances to date. His questionable infatuation with Mary is another topic we never fully explore, but there is nothing we can do but accept it and watch as the characters continue in their glib deceit.

Zeta-Jones, adopting a heavy but fine Scottish accent, also gives a vivid turn as a woman who blends her skill as a fake-medium and her skill as a seductive woman in a manner that suits her every need, and for a woman her “age” in showbiz, and I am talking about her character and not Zeta-Jones here, she uses every rule in the book as well as those she concocts herself to ensure her comfortable footing in life. In addition, if pressed to give a reason as to why one should set out to see this particular film, the artistry of the technical designs and the even-paced, complex performances would be that reason.

Defying the style of many contemporary evocations of a bygone era, “Death Defying Acts” does not conform to what one would expect, and its take on the lives of those who live through their trickery is one we have not seen before, adding new facets to Houdini’s public persona, real or not. They offer a fresh perspective, one that keeps the viewer on their toes every step of the way because, by now, when it comes to those magicians we know everything is never what it seems. The result is a perfectly entertaining period piece that offers less than meets the eye, but one that never finds its perfect tone, and this uneasiness results in a far less enjoyable romp as a whole.

Fatac Rating: **½

Death Defying Acts. Dreicted by Gillian Armstrong. Written by Tony Grisoni and Brian Ward. Cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos. Music by Cezary Skubiszewski. Costumes by Susannah Buxton. Starring: Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Timothy Spall and Saoirse Ronan. Running Time: 96 minutes. Age Restriction: PG. Year: 2008. Rating out of five stars.