(Originally from Facebook – August 17, 2013)

I didn’t really want to review this film. Primarily because it seems to be polarizing, and no matter what I say about it, I think a number of people are going to hate it. I went into it thinking it was something quite different than it was, and I ended up enjoying it. I say this because it made me feel uncomfortable and disturbed in a way that few movies have done. The 2000 Jeff Daniels film Chasing Sleep made me feel that way. I like movies that make me feel uncomfortable and disturbed. As far as I’m concerned, the worst thing a movie can do is make you feel ambivalent.

The film is about a twentysomething girl, Alicia, who goes on a trip with her cousin, who has to bail for a few days, leaving Alicia alone with three of Cousin Sarah’s friends, including a really odd boy named Brink, played by Michael Cera. Little by little, the relationships between the characters begin to fracture. I really want to take a moment to talk about Cera’s performance, because in the beginning of the film, I really thought he was just phoning it in, but as the film went on, I began to change my mind, and by the end realized that it was the best performance of the film. He’s a bit of a social misfit, but I have some definite ideas about what his motivation was. (I’ll leave those in the closet for now, though, so as not to spoil your viewing.)

Apart from Cera’s performance, the other thing that drew me in was this sense of dread that the film created. Director Sebastian Silva does a great job in making even the smallest moments of the film seem…off. It keeps us wriggling in out seats and biting our nails. Don’t go into this thinking it’s a horror film, though, as I did. It’s not. It’s a slow, psychological thriller (and maybe even more drama than thriller), which may account for some of the “I hate it” reviews.

The best psychological thrillers always have (at least) one characteristic in common–they build to a memorable and satisfying climax. (The Wicker Man comes to mind. The original Edward Woodward vehicle, not the awful Nicholas “not the bees!” Cage one.) And that’s where Magic Magic falls flat. And I mean really flat. The ending seems so disconnected from anything that comes before it that I was wondering if I had missed a large section of the film. I think even if you like the film, as I do, you’re going to hate the ending, as I do.

IMDB has it at 5.3. I hate to judge the film on the ending alone, so I’ve got to give it a 6.5, with the caveat that I think it’s a “must see,” but I’m guessing that most of you won’t feel the same. And if any of you do want to brave it I’d be interested in discussing it and dissecting it. (running time 1:37)