Dealt

This well-meaning but flawed documentary about 62-year-old magician and "card mechanic" Richard Turner would seem to be a can’t miss film on the surface, given that Turner is completely blind. Turner is a force of nature, a man who cannot come to terms with his handicap and so comports himself with a grimly determined attitude to play down his optical limitations in everything he does. Director Luke Korem’s film follows Turner through his initial accomplishments as a black belt martial artist and then traces his surge through the ranks of card-magicians: old 1980s TV clips of Turner show him effortlessly baffling audiences and television hosts. But Korem’s attention is so trained on Turner’s obsessive-compulsive personality and his battles with sightlessness that he skimps on the technical specifics of the card trickery. Viewers are told that Turner’s a world-class "card mechanic," but Korem never seriously investigates the specific tricks that make Turner so unique. And the film never adequately illuminates the weirdo-geek magic profession as a whole: yes, we do witness Turner being nominated for a Magic Award in Los Angeles for "Best Close-up Magician," but this categorical nomenclature gets viewers no further towards understanding what Turner has specifically accomplished or what his competition was like. Ironically, although Turner loathes being defined primarily by his handicap, this is exactly what Korem’s film has done. Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette and deleted scenes. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin)