The Magician is a film that just should not succeed. It was made for pretty much no money. On cheap digital cameras. By a first time director who seems to have a bit of an Orson Welles complex, given that he wrote, directed, produced, edited, and plays the lead. And it’s a ‘mockumentary’ about a hit-man who likes to indulge in some pseudo-Tarantino casual chat about pop culture in between filling his victim’s faces with bullets – hardly anything new there.

The fact that this film does succeed (and succeed very well) is mainly down to the chilling central performance from director/producer/actor/everything-else Scott Ryan, who continually and effortlessly straddles a very fine line between some truly vicious killings (‘Giving him the news,’ as he calls it) and constant jocular comments, delivered direct to camera, on topics as diverse as The Dirty Dozen, philandering Aussie Rules footballers, and whether Melbourne’s Mardi Gras is more gay than Sydney’s. Ryan’s facial tics, his constant habit of wringing his hands as nasty events unfold, even the way he holds his chewing gum between his grinning teeth, all contribute collectively to create a not very nice, but always engrossing, character. And as the admittedly scant plot unfolds, various hints of the character’s past (a failed marriage, dishonourable discharge from the army, a daughter he’s never met) create a level of sympathy for this man that his actions would suggest he doesn’t deserve.
It’s like the ideal synthesis of Taxi Driver and Marion & Geoff.

The dialogue, mostly improvised from a scant forty-page script-cum-treatment, is pretty much on the ball and makes good use of the movie’s structure. Max, the supposed student filmmaker tailing the hit-man, offers a much-needed counter-balance of sanity to his subject’s obvious psychosis. Plus, their extended conversation about how much you’d want to be paid to eat one of your own turds is worth the entry fee alone.

The film does have a few weak points: It’s never really made clear as to why a dangerous killer-for-hire would allow his worst crimes to be filmed, and the plot and style do borrow heavily from the likes of Man Bites Dog and Pulp Fiction. But these seem like minor issues given that the complete product is, overall, quite unsettling and yet also quite enjoyable. The fact that it remains unapologetically Australian all the way through, with frequent references to Australian culture, geography, and politics (‘Johnny Howard ain’t gonna stop me dealing drugs’) only makes it all the better.

Rated TBC (see IFCO website for details)
The Magician is released on 5th May 2006.
The Magician – Official website