The Sundance hit “Sleight,” about a young magician caught up in the criminal world, grew out of a short film, and it retains the appeal of something hand-crafted and small: it’s a tight tale well-told, with an appealing hero, a direct route to satisfaction, and the ever-present sense that the merest turn toward stylistic extravagance or adventure frippery would sink it.
The spelling of the title speaks to the magic of wonderment in close quarters, but the word it sounds like is an unintentionally positive attribute: “Sleight” is slight in the good way, because it floats along and draws your attention instead of yanking it by the collar.