79
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlHere's a movie with magic.
- 90Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThis documentary provides an elegant, enthralling peek behind the curtain and into the you-won't-trust-your-eyes world of this celebrated contemporary conjurer.
- 80Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichThe man himself has rarely been profiled without noticeable reluctance, though documentarians Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein delve fairly deep by allowing their subject to guide them where he may.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisUnsurprisingly, Mr. Jay proves a hugely entertaining guide, and as generous about his professional inspirations as he is reticent about his own life.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThis film is a documentary about the young man's devilment. He seems perfectly happy — ecstatic, even — seated at a table in front of a three-sided mirror and practicing card moves over and over and over again. As a kid, he learned moves from his grandfather. He moved away from home in his early teens.
- 75The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe film never even attempts to peer behind the curtain of Jay’s colorful existence; it’s content that the show in front of it is spectacle enough. But Deceptive Practices would be a richer, deeper experience if the filmmakers had penetrated Jay’s fierce boundaries even a little.
- 75NPRBob MondelloNPRBob MondelloAfter sitting at his elbow that day, I can tell you how he manages the tricks I saw really close-up. Not mysterious at all: It's magic, pure and simple.
- 75New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickWhatever the unanswered mysteries of Jay’s personal life, just watching this magician’s hands at work with a deck of cards is positively mesmerizing.
- 63Slant MagazineSlant MagazineIt never bothers to attempt the one thing we'd expect and hope from a documentary about Ricky Jay: It doesn't try to bamboozle us.