The first feature film from New Zealand writer/actor/director Andy Conlan.
We meet and follow sympathetic and tragically flawed Ronny Roman (Conlan) a magician so badly hurt by the infidelity of his former partner and stage assistant, that he weaves a world of magical make-believe around himself - as long as he believes he's a magician with eerie dark powers, he doesn't have to face up to the pain of betrayal while he tries to get his life back on track.
Unfortunately his scumbag manager (a convincingly slimy Michael Hurst) isn't doing much to help, but his scumbagness does have the accidental benefit of tricking our Ronny into an unpaid gig in a hospice where we meet our delightfully quirky love interest, in the beguiling form of Nurse Sarah (newcomer Georgie Hill), a girl with serious germ issues - she boils bottled water, "just in case" - and a heart with a Ronny Roman shaped hole in it.
Of course while life and love happen around him, Ronny is so distracted by his efforts to make a come-back TV magic show appearance - and his own hidden pain - that he might miss his chance at happiness and love. And lots of games of night time mini golf, if you know what I mean. (I mean mini golf played at night.) Featuring one of the most surreal umbrella fight scenes between a fry cook in a wifebeater and a dapper gentleman in a top hat ever to be caught on film.
There's a lot of wonderful weirdness to be had here, which makes for some great laughs and an enjoyable film. Support our fledgling local independent film industry, go see it tonight - at Rialto cinemas nationwide.
