SBIFF Review: Revisiting Deferred Dreams In ‘Magic Hour’

Jaqueline Christy’s Magic Hour boasts a stand-out performance from Miriam Shor as a put-upon woman trying to recapture lost promise.

Back in the early 2000s (what I’ll half-jokingly call “when life had promise”), I realized a life-long dream echoed in the new film Magic Hour. I auditioned for a role in a no-budget independent film that shot in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, called The Pink House. The film starred Heather Matarazzo, Zack Ward, and Frederick Weller among others. The role I auditioned for was a sidekick “thug” in a few sequences set in the roaring 1920s. I had to do the Charleston, I had to punch a guy out, and I had a single line.

I got the part.

Filming took place over three days in the heat of a Carolina August, and it was absolutely magical. I don’t think the film ever saw the light of day. Probably for the best. I was probably terrible. But I can say I’ve done it with set photos to prove it. After that, life took me in a completely different direction. I married. We had children. We had mortgages and credit card debt and jobs in various states of jeopardy. I’ve found other creative outlets obviously, but these outlets don’t really reflect the dreams of youth. Those dreams now live quietly in the back of my mind.

I say all of this because writer / director Jacqueline Christy’s Magic Hour, which just premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, taps into those missed opportunities and wistfully forgotten dreams. Anchored by a truly great performance from Miriam Shor (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Magic Hour revels in the unbridled joy of someone who gets a second shot at their dreams. It’s a knowing film about the eccentricities of film school and of the larger independent filmmaking scene. It’s an engaging film about parenting and leveraging your own frailties to uplift your children through theirs. Magic Hour isn’t a perfect film, but what it gets right absolutely soars.

Shor plays Harriet, a New Jersey wife and mother whose life absolutely falls short of any childhood dreams. Her husband wants a divorce. Her daughter holds her in medium esteem. She’s been demoted at work. The deck definitely feels stacked against Harriet. On a whim, she tries to re-enroll in film school after having deferred admission 20+ years earlier. Turns out, the old muscles are still there. Harriet excels at film school and eventually lands her dream job of directing an indie film. But can she cut it in the real world?

Magic Hour excels in those moments where Harriet begins to find her footing again. Christy and Shor hone in on real moments of self discovery and blossoming self-confidence. Shor’s performance takes Harriet on a beautiful journey from hapless victim to confident, powerful woman in subtle and fully realized ways. She carries much of the performance in her face and physical acting capabilities, and it serves the character incredibly well. The film lives or dies based on our relationship with Harriet, and Christy entrusted the role to the perfect actress.

Christy’s screenplay covers a lot of ground across 90 minutes, and at times, it feels a little extraneous, particularly in the last few scenes where Harriet becomes slightly guilty of monologuing a few too many times. I also found some of the earlier dialogue sequences between Harriet and her daughter (Cameron Morton) too frank and on the nose. Still, there are more than enough gorgeously rendered sequences realizing the challenges of the filmmaking process, particularly one sequence where Harriet sensitively pairs with an elderly actor struggling to deliver what could be his final performance.

I didn’t know what to expect from Magic Hour, but I can tell you I was pleasantly surprised. It tapped into yearnings and longings I’d long suppressed in an earned and honest way. Harriet’s journey, while very specific to that of a sidetracked wife and mother, opens itself to those who once dreamed of something big. It’s the kind of film that tells us “Never give up,” even if those odds are stacked against us. Even if time has passed us by.

And that, my friends, is a beautiful message to hear once in a while.