Death Defying Acts tries to ride whatever bandwagon The Illusionist and The Prestige set into motion but trades suspense entirely for tawdry period swoonery Gillian Armstrong wastes no time submitting to cliché  sinking her largely fictionalized Harry Houdini (Guy Pierce) into the waters surrounding some grossly CGIed city while Saoirse Ronan rambles on the soundtrack about sweet lies and trickery