Sometimes, things totally take you aback…

I watched this thing on Netflix a bit ago. It was called “behind her eyes”. Was it good? Yes. Did it have a twist? Indeed. Did I see it coming? No way. Did I keep thinking about it after it was over? Abso-freaking-lutely.

Sometimes you watch something that totally knocks your socks off. There’s a twist (aka “denouement”) that you did NOT see coming. And I bloody love it when that happens!

(If you like this sort of thing, I would recommend Behind Her Eyes. Also Memento. Also The Usual Suspects. Also The Prestige. Also Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2)

Hey Jack, I thought this was a magic blog. Not a film recommendation blog. What’s going on? 

Excellent question imaginary reader. Allow me to elaborate…

You see, some magic tricks are better than others. 

Some slightly vex you and leave you a little bewildered. Not so much a moment of magic, but a puzzle to be solved.

Some reach deep into your soul. Take you along a path. Throw you out in a way you couldn’t imagine and leave you thinking…

I did NOT see that coming.

These are the tricks that you think back to later. They may give you sleepless nights. They should even give you a feeling of childlike awe.

For example:

Your annoying uncle gets you to pick a card. He then deals some piles and you point and stuff and then he turns your card over. You’re a little puzzled, because you don’t know exactly how he did it. But you’re not surprised. It was kind of obvious that was going to happen. You’re at best a little puzzled. 

You’re at a magic show and a scantily clad woman climbs into a box as a slightly awkward looking guy in a shiny jacket pads around with a saw. You know fine well what’s going to happen. She’ll be fine. What are you thinking? “I’m glad they didn’t do that lengthwise”, “Hmm I wonder how they did that”, “Are those really her legs?”. Probably. But you’re unlikely to be thinking…

I did NOT see that coming.

Compare and contrast…

A dashing, tall magician in a waistcoat gets you to think of a card as he shows a pack to you. 

Then he gives them a little shuffle. Slaps the pack between his hands and the whole freaking pack vanishes. Apart from the card you were thinking of! Would you be puzzled? Or would you be thinking…

I did NOT see that coming!

(I’m hoping for the latter. Otherwise this totally makes an absolute mockery of the point I’m trying to make.)

You see, I’ve realised that predictable magic, like predictable movies, is forgettable. At best it’s a bit of a puzzle. It’s never going to elicit childlike awe or keep you awake at night. So, I’ve gone through my set really carefully, ditching the predictable. Every single trick now passes the “I did NOT see that coming” test. (It means the linking rings has been ditched. It’s a classic of magic, but let’s face it, you see a set of shiny metal rings being brandished by a magician and you know exactly what’s going to happen. It’s good, but it’s not surprising enough for my liking)