The Illusionist Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)September 10th, 2006
"The Illusionist" - Conjures up Something Special
I remember watching David Copperfield in Las
Vegas not too long ago. It was by far the most memorable of the showcase productions that I had
seen there. The fond memory of his performance
still lingers in my mind. And like all curious
minds, I am still wondering whether those
illusions were just fantastic sleight of hand or
if he had sold his soul to the Devil.
I bring that up because I have the same kind of
giddy feeling after watching "The Illusionist".
It's not a story about a magician, but its
atmosphere and love story and all that transpired still lingers even after the film is over. Like
David Copperfield's production, without being
able to put a finger on it, many things about
this film fascinated me.
In part, it's the nice casting. It stars Edward Norton as the enigmatic illusionist, Eisenheim.
His character brings an air of showmanship and intelligence. He is not just an on-stage, free-flowing performer but he is calculative. He
is not hunky, but he is romantic. His opponent
is the formidable Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell)
who is at the same time fearsome for his
power-hungry ideas yet feeble because of his single-mindedness. They are both attracted to
the engaging Sophie von Teschen (Jessica Biel).
She is morally grounded and yet willing to take heart-felt risks. Giving this mix some spice is Inspector Uhi (Paul Giamatti), who pursues his
cases with Holmesian zest but also sometimes with
a blind eye. At one point, Eisenheim demands to
know if Uhi is "completely corrupt" to which the Inspector replies, "no, NOT completely..."
Giamatti has become one of today's most reliable actors, and just watching him sleuth his way
towards and around the truth is worth the price
of admission.
In part, it was how the film was packaged.
Taking place in Vienna, this turn-of-the-century presentation has an old-world charm about it.
The style in which it is filmed reminds us of
early motion pictures, and the color tones give
it a sort of warm feeling of nostalgia. The
dramatic atmosphere is further enhanced by the beautiful orchestral score, heavy on emotion.
In part, it was the
nuanced-but-not-overly-complicated storyline. Eisenheim and the Prince become engaged in a duel
of sorts, and not just over Sophie. The Prince,
who considers himself a man of reason, feels threatened by someone who would provoke emotion. Their battle isn't so much man-to-man combat, but
is rather a conflict of philosophical wits. But
also at the film's heart, it is a nicely told
love story.
It sounds/looks simpler than it is. It's kind of
like how one might describe the David Copperfield show. And maybe that's why I enjoyed that Las
Vegas show and this film. Make an effort to
catch this show before "The Illusionist"
disappears.
Grade: B+
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
