Film Review: The Illusionist

The Illusionist

Country/Year: USA 2006

Genre: Drama

Director: Neil Burger

Producers: Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Michael London, Bob Yari, Cathy Schulman

Cast: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell

The Old Story with a New Trick

A poor young boy falls in love with a pretty aristocrat girl, but the class differences makes the relationship impossible.

Years later, the boy (now a handsome man) and the girl (now a beautiful lady and fiancée of the future emperor of Austria) meet again and love reappears.

It sounds very typical? Well and it is, except for the fact that the boy turns out to be an incredible magician.

Plot:

In The Illusionist , Edwar Norton plays the role of Eisenheim an illusionist of great talent with a wonderful show that is captivating the audience of Vienna in the last years of the XIX century. Inspector Uhl (played by Paul Giammati) tries to uncover the tricks of Eisenheim, first by mere interest, but after a show in which Eisenheim and Shopie (Jessica Biel) meet again after a long time, by order of the Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewel) who wants inspector Uhl to uncover Eisenheim’s tricks.

Unfortunately for Prince Leopold , instead of unmasking the tricks of Eisenheim, Inspector Uhl discovers that Shopie and Eisenheim are lovers…

Opinion:

While the story itself is not very original there are several features that make this movie remarkable. First and foremost is the outstanding quality of the photography. It is really beautiful and catches perfectly the atmosphere of Vienna and its theatres. Second is the wonderful acting of Paul Giammati, particularly when he is together with Edward Norton.

On the other hand, I must say that although The Illusionist is an entertaining movie, perfect for a Sunday evening, it has an important flaw. The end is quite predictable, so if you expect a final and surprising twist you can be quite disappointed because even a skilled Illusionist like Eisenheim can’t change the outcome of a classical story.