I promise to use the least amount of violence necessary...

When Melbourne hitman Ray Shoesmith discovers that his next-door neighbour Max, is a film student, he commissions him to document his life - and more specifically, his job, which essentially involves, er, killing people. But Ray is no mere thug. Rather, he's a thinker, not to mention something of a motormouth, forever quizzing his victims about arcane points of trivia, or debating issues of questionable import. Is AFL legend Wayne Carey morally bankrupt? Was Clint Eastwood really in The Dirty Dozen? Are Commodores better than Ferraris?
Max and his camera accompany Ray over a series of days as he goes about his business: warning off an erstwhile mate, kidnapping a drug dealer and even helping Max out with a little problem of his own. With a darkly comic perspective on the domain of underworld crime, The Magician boasts a hilarious script and a show-stopping central performance from actor-writer-director Ryan, and is destined for cult status.