Magic (1978)

After revisiting Anthony Hopkins brilliant work in Scott Hick's "Hearts of Atlantis" (now on VHS/DVD), an adaptation of a Steven King novel by screenwriter/novelist William Goldman, I remembered a collaboration between Hopkins and Goldman a long time ago in 1978 with the film "Magic."
Its too bad to see this film has been out of print for a long time since it has to be one of Hopkins most underlooked roles, playing the part of Corky and his dummy Fats. "Magic" isn't your standard genre film, but plays more as a very disturbing character study with a surprisingly touching romance story to go along with the material.

Corky (Hopkins) is a lonely young man who has grown up fascinated from magic tricks. He even plans on making a name for himself by doing solo acts for crowds. His first attempt at an amateur club bombs miserably and he doesn't make any progress until he gets the help of a sidekick; a trash-talking dummy by the name of Fats.

Corky immediately garners the attention of a renowned agent (Burgess Meredith), who takes an interest to him and even has some ideas into making him a well known personality. Corky, however, gets very nervous about the idea of becoming a celebrity and he decides to head out to the neighborhood he grew up in. At first, it appears to be mostly isolated and dreary, but the sight of Peggy Ann (Ann-Margret), a woman he has had a longtime crush on, starts to make him feel more at ease. Although they have a great time catching up to speed on their lives and occurences in the past, things become more uncomfortable for Corky when Peggy Ann's abusive husband (Ed Lauter) comes home and he soon finds himself letting Fats harsh personality take the best out of him.

Goldman adapted this film from his novel and the translation comes out quite impressively. Director Richard Attenborough has never taken on the thriller genre before and I was very pleased with his work here. I especially like the way he fucks around with your mind about the existence of Fats and catches you attention with a few grim moments that appear when you'd least expect it.

One of the main reasons I would highly recommend this film for is the intense performance of Hopkins. Corky is a multi-dimensional person and Hopkins gets everything right, from the facial expressions to the sudden bouts of madness. His conversations with Fats, an equally intriguing persona, are the true highlights of the film and I really liked his chemistry with Margret.

The most memorable moment that stayed with me long after watching it is the moment where Meredith makes a bet for Corky not to cling onto Fats for five minutes. Its amazing how intense this scene is from the use of silence and the expressions on both actors, particularly the sweaty Hopkins.
Margret holds her own as the love interest and provides excellent work here. Meredith adds strong presence and an undeniably cocky charm to him that fits the part of Ben Greene (who Fats refers to as 'Gangrene'). Lauter appears late in the film, but his role is quite effective and despite the sometimes rough attitude mannerisms of his character, I was pleased to see him written as more than just a one-dimensional cretin.

The low-key tone and slow pacing of the film may turn some off (which I didn't mind) and those expecting a straight-out horror film judging by the cover box will likely be let down with the results of the film. As much as I liked his directing work, Attenborough does take one small misstep in the film, which is a love scene between Hopkins and Margret. I thought the scene itself was fine, but the romantic music blaring in the background felt way out of place.

Aside from that, I can't think of any real complaints I had with the film. If you can possibly find it at rental outlets or television, its definitely worth seeking out. It stuck with me after watching it and I got hooked fast on the characters and storyline, which Goldman has always had a good knack for. Watching the way Hopkins career has spanned over the decades, its more than a delight watching him take charge in an earlier role as he started becoming more well known to the public.

For those who enjoyed this film, I also highly recommend "Pin," an incredibly creepy film from Canada about a young man's infatuation with a medical dummy that he believes is alive. I haven't seen it in years, but I remember it being quite similar themed to "Magic" and I'm pretty positive it gave me the willies.

Rating: **** out of *****

Review by Adam Eshack - (c) 2/18/02