"Dealt" is a hard-to-classify bio-documentary that tells the story of a man who turned a disability into a successful parlor act and a most unusual career. Born with a severe eye affliction that eventually rendered him totally blind, Richard Turner taught himself slight-of-hand card tricks, the secret to which has baffled and entertained many a fully sighted professional magician. Turner, who prefers the classy handle "magician" to the cruder "card cheat," takes us into his bedroom, where he keeps 5,000 packs of playing cards, each of which he transforms into a tricky accessory.
Even people who might usually frown on Turner's tricks, like gambling-industry security expert Steve Forte, sing his praises. "Richard stands out. He's not your classic close-up magician. He's demonstrating methods used by cheaters, the most difficult thing you can do with a pack of cards."
"Dealt" becomes a family affair as Turner's sighted son Asa explains what it's like to be a kind of human seeing-eye dog to a famous father. One of the film's highlights comes when Asa hits 18 and heads off to college, leaving Richard to learn how to get along with a guide dog, a practice he had disdained. Richard describes how blindness affected him as a kid. "The kids would call me Mr. Magoo. I wanted to beat them up. I went out to the garage and took the magnifying glass I was given to help me read things, and pointed it into the sun. I literally wanted to burn the eyes out of my head."
Richard's sister Lori, also blind since age three, provides an alternative blind survival-guide narrative as she takes advantage of all the coping devices, including braille, that her brother avoided until his 60s. "I am independent in a different way than Rick. He doesn't use a cane, hardly, and he doesn't use a dog. He doesn't want people to know that he doesn't see because he thinks it's embarrassing. I just don't care what people think, it's important for me to have as much freedom as possible. It's so liberating. Once I couldn't cross a very simple street. I thought people were nuts to cross a street. Now [with a guide dog] I can get my groceries and can walk to the mall. I didn't want to be a burden on people."
"Dealt" is both a moving account of a family overcoming disability as well as a kind of advocacy piece for the nationwide legalization of gambling. (Opens Friday.)
Magician Richard Turner in the bio-documentary "Dealt." Photo: Roger Tam