The Magician

Scott Ryan's 2005 Australian film presents the daily work of a hitman in Melbourne as though a documentary crew were filming it. Ray gets used to the camera; he chats, jokes, and now and then kills someone. The film was made on a very small budget and largely improvised; Ryan directs and takes the lead. The humour comes from violence becoming ordinary and the viewer getting used to it. That odd closeness is both the film's strength and what makes it uncomfortable. The mock documentary form is applied consistently. The image quality is raw and some sections scattered. Who it's for: viewers who like Australian independent cinema and the mock documentary form. Who it's not for: anyone troubled by violence presented as comedy, or wanting high production values.