''The Magician'' is a 2005 Australian film written and directed by Scott Ryan. The film was originally shot over 10 days with a budget of . Ryan edited a half-hour version of the film for screening at the St. Kilda Film Festival, where it was seen by stuntman and film producer

Nash Edgerton Nash Edgerton (born 19 January 1973) is an Australian film director, actor and stuntman, and a principal member of the movie-making collective Blue-Tongue Films. Early life Edgerton was born in Blacktown, New South Wales and grew up in Dural ...

(brother of

Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...

), who took the project under his wing. After receiving A$330,000 in government grants, the film was re-released in 2005.

Plot

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

that follows the escapades of Ray Shoesmith, a

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may ...

who hires a film student to document his life.

Cast

* Scott Ryan as Ray Shoesmith * Ben Walker as Tony Richards * Massimiliano Andrighetto as Massimo "Max" Totti * Kane Mason as Benny * Nathaniel Lindsay as Edna

Box office

''The Magician'' grossed $182,164 at the box office in Australia.

Reception

The film holds a 75% approval rating from critics based on 16 reviews at ''Rotten Tomatoes''.

Awards and nominations

;

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

;

IF Awards The Inside Film Awards (now known as the IF Awards) is an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry, developed by the creators of Inside Film Magazine, Stephen Jenner and David Barda, and originally produced fo ...

;

Melbourne Underground Film Festival The Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) is an Austalian independent film festival featuring mostly genre, controversial, transgressive and avant garde material. History The Melbourne Underground Film Festival was formed out of disagreeme ...

Spinoff series

A television spinoff based on the Ray Shoesmith character premiered on FX in 2018 titled '' Mr Inbetween''. Ryan reprised his role, and served as writer and producer on the show.

also served as producer and director.

References

External links

*
The Magician at the National Film and Sound Archive
2005 films Australian crime drama films 2000s crime drama films Films shot in Melbourne Films about contract killing 2005 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s Australian films {{2000s-crime-drama-film-stub