Magic in the Moonlight

In 1928, an illusionist, Wei Ling Soo, performs in front of a crowd in Berlin with his world-class magic act. Soo is actually a British man named Stanley, who wears a disguise in his act. In his dressing room, he is greeted by old friend and fellow illusionist Howard Burkan. Howard enlists Stanley to accompany him to the French Riviera, where a rich American family, the Catledges, has apparently been taken in by a clairvoyant, Sophie, so much that the son of the family, Brice, is smitten with her. Howard says he has been unable to uncover the secrets behind Sophie's tricks, and is tempted to believe she really has supernatural powers. He asks Stanley, who has debunked many charlatan mystics, to help him prove she is a fraud. Howard and Stanley travel to the French Riviera, but Stanley is soon astonished by Sophie's ability to go into a fugue state and apparently pull out highly personal details about him and his family. Stanley witnesses a séance in which Sophie communicates with the deceased patriarch of the Catledge family. A candle floats up from the table and Howard grabs it to try to discern what trickery is at play, but is astounded to find no apparent subterfuge. When Stanley and Sophie visit his Aunt Vanessa in Provence, Sophie is seemingly able, upon holding Aunt Vanessa's pearls, to somehow relate secret details of Vanessa's great love affair. This finally convinces Stanley of Sophie's authenticity. He has an epiphany, realizing that his lifelong rationalism and cynicism have been misguided. When caught in a rainstorm, Stanley and Sophie take shelter at an observatory the former used to visit as a child. After the rain subsides, they open the roof up and view the stars. At a Gatsby-esque party, Stanley and Sophie dance. As they walk together later that night, Sophie asks him if he has felt any feelings for her "as a woman". Stanley is surprised and admits he has not thought of her in that way. She leaves upset. The next day, Stanley holds a press conference to tell the world that he, who spent his life debunking charlatan mystics, has finally come to find one who is the real deal. The conference is interrupted when he receives news that Aunt Vanessa has been in a car accident. Stanley rushes to the hospital, and considers turning to prayer for solace. He begins to pray for a miracle to save his aunt, but is unable to go through with it as the rationality that has been his whole life comes back. He rejects prayer, the supernatural and by extension, Sophie and her powers. He decides once more to prove she is a fraud. Using a trick seen earlier in his stage act, Stanley appears to leave the room but stays to overhear Sophie and Howard discuss their collusion in what has been an elaborate ruse. He discovers Sophie was able to know so much about him and his aunt because she and Howard collaborated to fool Stanley. Sophie is indeed a charlatan, and Howard had found out. Rather than unmask her to stop the ruse, he enlisted Sophie to help him one-up Stanley. Stanley is initially angry at Howard and Sophie, but decides to forgive them. In a conversation with Aunt Vanessa, who has recovered from her car accident, Stanley admits that he is in love with Sophie. He finds her and asks her to marry him instead of Brice. Sophie is taken aback and rejects his haughty, awkward proposal. Returning dejected to Aunt Vanessa's, Stanley admits that he fell in love with Sophie at first sight. He is then surprised when Sophie, who had arrived before him, uses a spirit knock. He proposes, she accepts with a spirit knock, and they kiss.

Plot from Magic in the MoonlightCC BY-SA 4.0