The History Channel’s original two-part miniseries Houdini, has a lot of style, a lot of spectacle and surprisingly, a little substance to back it up.  Narrated from the point of view of Harry Houdini himself, the show jumps back and forth through points in his life as he reflects upon what happened has happened, how certain things relate to what might be going on or pondering on what to do next.  How can he get bigger, get better are two questions that he repeatedly asks himself.  As the film moves along, we meet his family and his wife Bess and all the people he comes into contact with during his life including including Rasputin and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  When all is said and done, we are left with a portrait that hits the highs and lows of his life, from beginning to end and the realization that the glamour of the stage does not always transfer to real life when off of it.

Portraying the man in question is Adrien Brody who does a great job in the role of the master magician.  He brings a lot of energy to the character and is electric as you watch him on screen and rightly so, as it is very much needed to play a man who is all about the pageantry and performance.  Brody also brings the arrogance and brashness to Houdini as we follow him through the series, getting cockier the larger his reputation grows and always feeling the need to outdo himself.  We also realize that Houdini is a complicated guy, much like everyone else, a man devoted to his mother but one who hates his father and lives on the adoration he gets from the public more than anything else.  Whether it is in the quiet moments when he reflects back on his life, or when he is raging with Bess, Brody can be counted on to give it his all.

The series goes on to explore much of Houdini’s life aside from the stage and the tricks that he would use to captivate audiences, though they would all make an appearance like the water torture chamber among many others.  His whirlwind courtship and resulting relationship to Bess, his wife of many years is looked at, as are the many trials they had to endure.  One of the more interesting aspects of his character that is perhaps not as widely known is the time he spent as an international spy, which is really quite fascinating and something you could easily see the man doing.  And while it might have seemed a little hypocritical on his part, later in life Houdini would search out the so-called mystics and psychics and prove them wrong as liars and fakers, unable to do what they claim and outing them to the public.  The man himself used trickery to astound audiences, and though he might play upon different emotions, in the end, what they did was the same.

Kristen Connolly was another bright spot in the series as Houdini’s wife Bess.  Where Houdini was loud and over the top, she seemed almost demure, but when called for, she could give it as good as he could.  The onscreen chemistry between Connolly and Brody was apparent and it helped to hold the film together amongst all the special effects and eye candy that was prevalent in the film.  There were a few inconsistencies of course, but there usually is when it comes to most biopics and there was little mention of his film career.  Not everything could be touched upon unless they made it longer, and yes, the script could have been a bit tighter with a little more depth here and there.  As it was, it did not seem they were going for an A&E Biography type show, instead just wanting to make an entertaining show about the man’s life and that is exactly what they accomplished.