Magic Moments (1989)

Directed by: Lawrence Gordon Clark | 99 minutes | drama | Actors: Jenny Seagrove, John Shea, Paul Freeman, John Abbott, Shirley Cassedy, Tony Caunter, Charles Collingwood, Sam Douglas, Leroy Golding, Stephen Hoye, Eriq La Salle, Neville Phillips, Laura Sadler, Alison Sterling, Debora Weston

Nora Roberts is a celebrated novelist who has since made quite a few television films based on her books. After the DVD release of more recent films such as ‘Northern Lights’ and ‘Midnight Bayou’, it is now the turn of the oldest, ‘Magic Moments’ from 1989.

The English Melanie James (Jenny Seagrove) works for the production company of her good friend and boss Brian Swann. So far, Brian (Paul Freeman) hasn’t given her a chance to produce a television show herself. When Melanie attends a performance by the illusionist Troy Gardner (John Shea) with her boss, she conceives the idea of ​​signing him for a television show. Brian sees nothing in her idea, after all, the illusionist has resolutely rejected previous attempts.

Despite Brian’s resistance, Melanie travels to Troy Gardner’s mansion. Upon arrival, she is already surprised by mysterious incidents. Once inside, Melanie has to wait a while and uses this time to examine a room full of props. There Troy meets the businesswoman and he shows that she has made a big impression on him. Melanie doesn’t quite know what to do with his advances. Although she resists at first, the illusionist manages to find a way to her heart. Much to Brian’s chagrin, he would prefer to see the charming entertainer disappear from Melanie’s life today rather than tomorrow…

The face of John Shea is striking and will not be unknown to most. The American especially made a furore in the nineties as Lex Luthor in the television series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”. But fans of the “Gossip Girl” series will know him for his portrayal of Harald Waldorff. In ‘Magic Moments’ you can see that Shea throws his looks into battle. As Troy, for example, he returns quite sweaty from a run on his estate. Even though the role of the illusionist is less impressive compared to Shea’s later work, he already has a strong mimicry in ‘Magic Moments’. The American knows what to do with the mysterious element of the character. With his eyes and intriguing grin, Shea brings this up. Years later, that mimicry also came in handy in his role as the mean Lex Luthor.

Actress Jenny Seagrove (‘The Woman in White’) pales somewhat next to colleague Shea as the honest Melanie. Seagrove knows how to portray Melanie’s low-key personality and how much she considers Brian’s opinion. But the actress fails to really ignite Melanie’s love for Troy. The character becomes a little looser, but the expressions remain dull. Shea compensates a lot in this with Troy’s excesses. The moment that Troy receives his female guest in the hotel room is beautifully played. But also when he has a big hangover and assistant Lee has to help him sober up.

Through exasperated facial expressions and strong body language, Paul Freeman as Brian Swann clearly shows how the character thinks about all the developments. The role is small, but Freeman manages to set the right tone without using too many words. ‘Magic Moments’ is in everything comparable to a novel from the well-known Bouquet Series. No surprise that publisher Harlequin eagerly sponsored this film. ‘Magic Moments’ ripples on for too long at times. Like when Troy is in Barcelona and you get to see a lot of the environment. The eighties music, however, makes the wait a little more bearable.

‘Magic Moments’ contains all the elements that Nora Roberts often uses in her books. Here too it is about a woman who has difficulty opening up to a man and there is an obstacle to the budding love. ‘Magic Moments’ is not the strongest film from the Roberts stable. The biggest shortcoming is the fact that Seagrove and Shea don’t manage to bring the love between the two characters sparkling enough on the screen. The film holds up reasonably well because ‘Magic Moments’ manages to keep up the tension and serves a climax at the end. But the magic of love isn’t easy to fake…