Film Review: Magic Magic (15) (Chile/U.S.A. 2013) (Director: Sebastian Silva) (English & Spanish with English Subtitles),  The Filmhouse Cinema Screen Three, Edinburgh, Monday 21.04.2014, 15:00

This film focuses upon the character of Alicia (Juno Temple) who travels to join her cousin and a couple of her cousins friends for a trip in Chile. 

Not long after we first meet Alicia it is clear that she is 'tired', and then she has to put-up with the fact that her cousin has to go away from the trip for a couple of days and Alicia is left with a couple of people she does not know, one of whom (Brink; Michael Cera) she actively finds unsettling. 

The film looks at a person's character disintegrating due to a mixture of paranoia, a sense of isolation, a lack of sleep and auditory hallucinations. Temple is very raw and engaging as the vulnerable young lady who feels that the world cannot be trusted. Michael Cera is equally as impressing as the creepily goading Brink. This is very different to his usual harmlessly nice bumbling characters. 

The film is set in beautiful countryside that can appear soothing and enchanting until you want to get away from it. The film has a joyfully ambiguous ending which enables the creating of your own sense of what may happen to Temple's character. I found the film overall to be a very engrossing watch, though it did not feel to be spectacular. 

Rating: 08/10.