I'm going to start off by stating the obvious: biopics are hard to do. Typically, when someone or group of someones try to do one, what happens is that they find themselves being crunched for time. Logically, then, they resort to one of two options. Either they attempt to cram their subject's entire life into a series of hasty vignettes that wind up having the cumulative effect of a shitty episode of This is Your Life or they commit to focusing on a single, defining period in the subject's life and risk leaving out countless other important and formative moments. How lucky was it then that History Channel and director Uli Edel's latest project, Houdini, seemed to be in that mythical sweet spot with all the tools to strike that perfect balance between the two extremes. For one, they weren't crunched for time. While most movies and television biopics can maybe get two hours of running time if they're lucky, Houdini was given over three hours to tell the late magician's story. Equally were the blessings of a screenwriter (Nicholas Meyer, nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the Sherlock Holmes film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution) who seemed perfect for the job as well as an A-list, Academy Award winning actor (an accolade History Channel has never missed an opportunity to boast) in Adrien Brody. Yes, combine that with beautiful set and costume design, a wonderfully evocative John Debney score that beautifully blends old and new and strong performances across the board and History Channel seemed to have themselves a real winner! And then in comes Adrien Brody's voice-over and hits you in the gut worse than any punch.
That's not me being trying to be funny people. That's an actual line that Adrien Brody says in the miniseries. Houdini, the man who dies of a sucker punch-related burst appendix actually says the line "Some things can hit you in the gut worse than any punch." Really, Houdini? ANY punch? Any punch whatsoever?There's literally no punch that you could experience that would be worse than this heartbreak you're feeling right now? And just in case you didn't catch on to that subtle wink at things to come, they make sure to hammer the point home (yes, like a punch in the gut) by showing a Guy Ritchie-esque CGI closeup of the inside of Houdini's abdomen as the metaphorical blow is struck. Don't get me wrong, I'll admit that I found it pretty hilarious the first time they did it. But by the 5th or 6th reintroduction to the inside of Houdini's torso my laughs were replaced by a baffled "Wow, they're really doing this."
Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have expected subtlety from the guy that directed The Little Vampire. And, for what it's worth, you can tell that Edel is clearly excited about telling this story. When it comes down to it, I guess there really isn't anything wrong with the miniseries' directness. I understand that any biopic about Harry Houdini, given the type of man he was, can't really be done without a lot of enthusiasm and a good sense of humor. Plus, even though things often get a little too dramatic and ostentatious, it is after all a story about one of the most famous showmen of all time. Really, despite all of those CGI gut-punches and cliche moments when women Houdini comes into contact with turn into his mother before his eyes, Edel does some interesting things. I love when a movie or television series shows how the sausage gets made, so to speak. Here, it creates an interesting dynamic any time Houdini steps on stage. There's a palpable tension, but its not because we're worried about whether or not he'll make it out alive, it's because we've seen him practice these stunts and know how they work. We know what he's in for when he gets submerged upside-down in that tank of water. It's a subtle twist on our typical experience with magic and it works really well. But that damn voice-over. That damn, omnipresent, ever intruding voice-over.
I have no problem with voice-over in theory and often have no problem with it in practice. I completely understand how it's oftentimes necessary in order to present information and insight that would either seem clumsy and/or out of place if explained in the physical world of the film or TV series or would simply take up too much time if the characters were to explain it themselves. I get that. It makes sense. What I don't understand is when it is used the way it is in Houdini. Adrien Brody's voice-over is such a constant and is so frequently over-the-top that it feels almost like something that might be done on Drunk History or SNL. It's like if Werner Herzog did a documentary on narration. Houdini and Houdini leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. Whether you like it not, they're going to make sure you know damn well what's happening in front of you. Even the psychological isn't immune. Houdini makes sure you know exactly where his state of mind is at all times lest you forget "The one thing I can't seem to escape from... is me!" And it accomplishes nothing! There's no added dramatic weight. What's told to you isn't something that couldn't have been deduced through, I don't know, WATCHING WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON THE SCREEN. Not only does it make you feel stupid by insinuating that you can't decipher even the basest of symbolic elements, it makes it so that any modicum of emotional resonance or nuance has to bite and scratch and claw to get out. Anytime the series builds up any type of energy or momentum it's immediately snuffed out by an intruding voice saying, "Man, did you see that?! This is what I meant by that. Here's also what I'm feeling at this moment. Jeez, what a punch in the gut this all is." How are you supposed to connect to anything you're seeing on screen when something like that is happening every 30 seconds? Simply put, you can't.
What makes this such a shame is that apart from the maddening voice-over, Houdini is actually a pretty good biopic! Apart from the interesting work Uli Edel does, Nicholas Meyer's script is also pretty solid. Yes, there are the occasional and obligatory childhood flashbacks and the final half of the series feels rather hurried to make it to that all important set of sucker punches, but Meyer is able to neatly separate the two main eras of the late magician's life - his career as an illusionist and escape artist and his crusade against the world of spiritualism - and the revelation that Harry Houdini was actually James Bond without all the killing. Meyer's script also tackles (sometimes more successfully than others) Houdini's relationships with the two women that shaped his existence. While these elements are sometimes sidelined in favor of showing the magician escaping a jail cell or making an elephant disappear, Houdini's complex and ever-changing interactions with his wife as well as his near-Oedipal fascination with his mother after repeatedly failing to win his father's affections are two of the most intriguing things that the miniseries has to offer. I've rarely heard anyone talk about Houdini's personal life and it's fascinating to see how his motivations to reconnect with his mother's spirit were so strong that they ended up destroying nearly all the immense joy he had for his profession and for his life.
Likewise, it's hard to pull off such an extensive range of emotions without incredibly strong leads. Adrien Brody for one is an absolutely brilliant choice.What I love about him is that he's not the classically good-looking Hollywood actor. He isn't big or loud and doesn't have this booming presence, but what he has is perfect for the role. His presence greatly comes from what's just underneath the surface. There is this magnetism in his soft-spoken demeanor that for whatever reason convinces you of Houdini's electric showmanship. He has this weird mixture of a relaxed nature and tremendous determination that makes him as commanding in the largest theaters as he is in the smallest parlors. The way Brody is able to portray how Houdini's endless enthusiasm eventually turned against him in his quest to make contact with his mother's spirit - how his victories only led to more and more grieving, systematically dimming the magician's once bright life force - is utterly fantastic. Kristen Connolly does an equally fine job as Houdini's wife Bess. She displays this balance of warmth and a strong, sarcastic wit that makes for the perfect foil for Brody's Houdini. And while she eventually gets unfortunately relegated to concerned and disgruntled spouse, the pair's early scenes on stage and behind the scenes have this wonderful, easy-going chemistry that makes it easy to understand how the duo found love and made it to the top as quickly as they did. There's this one amazing scene early on where they both get confronted after an act doesn't go the way they had hoped or planned. After the confrontation they share this brief moment of silence contemplating the life of performance they have chosen to share. It's one of the most powerful moments in the entire miniseries. And the main reason why it's so powerful? SILENCE.
It's during moments like that one that it feels like Houdini is trying to pull some bad trick on the audience. Nearly every single time the series appears like it may be ready to engage in some genuine reflection or nuance in comes some Brody noir-like voice-over to remind us all of how Houdini was an escape artist who could never really escape his inner demons. And, as a result, any and all instances of potential resonance are destroyed. Houdini had everything it needed to be a captivating deconstruction of a man whose life was an interesting, contradictory mix of self-aggrandizing myth and merciless devotion to practicality and what was "real." It's just so unfortunate that with all the talk of not being able to escape, Houdini is ultimately trapped by its devotion to an overwhelming and unnecessary voice-over that prevents its audience from ever truly connecting to it. There's this poignant and quiet scene at the end of the series where Bess is conducting a seance in an attempt to contact Houdini from beyond the grave. As the camera pulls out, the screen darkens into a title card that reads "Harry and Bess never made contact again."
I feel you, Bess. I feel you.
