But the focus of the novel stays fixed on Duane, and through typical narrative sleight of hand on Mr. McMurtry's part, the farce is modulated into something drolly moving.

Mr. Glazer's narrative sleight of hand, quick-fingered editing and playful musical sense show a mastery of pop filmmaking technique no doubt honed during his years making television commercials.

Transitions and other narrative sleights of hand are abetted by the lighting design of Jeff Croiter and sound design by Jorge Muelle.

ONE has come to expect extreme forms of narrative sleight of hand from the English novelist Julian Barnes.

Mr. Peck's emotional wisdom about his characters, his narrative sleight of hand, and his observant, unforgiving eye all enable him to turn melodrama into tragedy, horror into something deeper and more affecting.

A dazzling feat of narrative sleight of hand, "Memento" runs its film-noir revenge plot in reverse.

In "Keane," which shows today and tomorrow at the New York Film Festival, Mr. Kerrigan both gives us a life at the edge of the abyss and pulls off an extremely deft narrative sleight of hand.

Like an expert yarn-spinner, Mr. McElwee practices a kind of narrative sleight of hand.