adams225 This film blew me away when i saw it. It may be an acquired taste but it is worth viewing if you enjoy dark humour and compelling performances. There are two moments of perfectly staged "will he won't he" tension, and this is one of the few films i have seen where i literally had no idea what was gonna happen next. The ending was one of the finest ever made, where 'The Magician' disappears into a crowd of people, never to be seen again. I am an englishman, and i suspect the humour might only appeal to British people and aussies - yanks won't get it - but that is the only slight criticism i can offer. This film is genius, nothing less. Repeated viewings are recommended. Enjoy!

Lucky_C OK, so this film may be derivative. It owes a hell of a lot to Man Bites Dog, and more specifically The Last Horror Movie. But I enjoyed both of those, and this story about a hit-man who hires his film student neighbour to make a documentary about him is a) as dark as coal and b) funny as hell. There are differences between this film and the afore mentioned inspirations though. In Man Bites Dog and the Last Horror Movie, the protagonists were crazed killers, who attacked for no reason, and attacked constantly. In this, only 2 people are killed. The story is based around one of the leads 'jobs', and is indispersed with events and interviews based both before and after the job. The writing is both entertaining and moving, as the lead considers himself a man of some morals, just with a rubbish job. He goes and helps a friend take revenge on a former colleague who robbed him, because he considers it the right thing to do. He kills another friend in cold blood, because he believes it the right thing to do for his friend. Twisted logic and morality, but it's refreshing to find out why he kills. The film is worth seeing if the opportunity arises, and whilst it is a black as coal comedy, it's one that can make you think. And it's always good to see a film about killing where killing isn't the main feature.

nobbytatoes In a mock/documentary style, we travel around with Ray Shoesmith, a hit-man in the city Melbourne. After his latest hit on an unsuspecting man shot in his garage, Ray moves on to his next person. Tony is a drug dealer, who Ray's friend Edna has mixed up with. Grabbing Tony off the streets, throwing him into the car, drives off to the middle of nowhere for Tony to dig his grave. Jumping from Tony's ordeal, to other hits and Ray's rocky friendship with Edna, we start to see who this enigma of a man is.In recent times, films have been taking that step of raising life mundane aspects into a form of entertainment. The magician runs off a series of non-interconnected conversation, small banter, that ultimately has no end game; it doesn't bring much insight into the people we are watching. Gay actors, what car would you most want to own, would you eat your own excrement, Mardi Gras, etc. The dark humor that is entwined into these conversation stop The Magician failing into redundancy. Tiffs over how a dead man walking digs his own grave is nothing short of devilish. The problem with the conversations is they lack a lot of consistency. While many grab your attention, other fall flat and become mundane; much to the subject matter.For a hit-man, Ray is one unorthodox professional. Writer/director Scott Ryan spins the image of a hit-man from a suave, professional assign to an everyday Australian who you wouldn't pick from the crowd. Ryan never portrays Ray as an antihero, nor tries to make you feel sympathy for him, as he is an amoral person, in a amoral profession.Also taking the lead as Ray, Scott Ryan brings so much charisma to Ray. There is such a presence he holds, you don't want to miss a word he says. At times you are just wondering what is going on in his head. Ben Walker as Tony and Nathaniel Lindsay as Edna both give solid performances; both being amateur actors.The Magician does have it flaws, though they are overcome by some very interesting conversations with one strange man.

Sacha Van Spall When Melbourne hit-man Ray Shoesmith discovers that his next-door neighbour is a film student, he commissions him to document his life - the footage is to be released à la Pauline Hanson in the event of his early death. Australian filmmaker Scott Ryan is writer, director and star of The Magician. It's not the violence that Ryan focuses on, but the conversation, the banalities and intensities of human interaction and obsessive interest in detail. The film shows us what makes Ray tick as we witness first hand his brutal efficiency. It's a fake documentary played straight. It's darkly comic and totally draws you in, to the point where you wonder if it's real. It's Ryan's marvellous performance that serves as the glue that holds everything together. His character is a killer, a man who'd as soon pull the trigger as not, but without smoothing out any of the rough edges the actor makes you like him when what you should be feeling is utter loathing. And that's no small achievement. Scott Ryan has a gift for the Aussie vernacular that ensures his remarkable debut (think Chopper meets Spinal Tap) is destined for cult status.