Directed by:
Neil BurgerScreenplay:
Neil BurgerCinematography:
Dick PopeComposer:
Philip GlassCast:
Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, Eddie Marsan, Jake Wood, Tom Fisher, Karl Johnson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Eleanor Tomlinson (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
The acclaimed illusionist Eisenheim (Norton) has not only captured the imaginations of all of Vienna, but also the interest of the ambitious Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). But when Leopold's new fiancée (Jessica Biel) rekindles a childhood fascination with Eisenheim, the Prince's interest evolves into obsession...and suddenly the city's Chief Inspector (Giamatti) finds himself investigating a shocking crime. But even as the Inspector engages him in a dramatic challenge of wills, Eisenheim prepares for his most impressive illusion yet. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
Surprisingly more entertaining than The Prestige for me. Edward Norton steals the whole film for himself, he is intelligent, charismatic, insightful and a very talented illusionist. The period in which the film takes place suited me very well, the romance is apt and not annoying and the overall flow of the plot is very brisk and not boring, so for me I'm satisfied, I don't even know why I put the film off for so long. Very good. 80%.
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If it weren't for (and this is my eternal problem) the unsympathetic Norton, it would have been better. This magical thing boasts a nice period atmosphere, music and ubiquitous illusions that make it almost a fairy-tale spectacle. But the film is slow, rather long and often boring. The filmmakers must have realized this, so in the last third they got things going again. Due to this the end is... Better. But it won't save The Illusionist.
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As a historical blockbuster for the consumerist audience, The Illusionist features oversimplified characters and emotions created by tacky lighting that blurs the image beyond their faces, like in the worst soap operas. On the other hand, the story is nicely fast-paced and Bratislava and Prague on the background of Philip Glass’s music seem irresistible, almost fairytale-like. It’s a bit surprising that the most remarkable character (and performance) is not delivered by Edward Norton, but by Paul Giamatti. Had it not been for the lame attempt to impress us with the point, which any thinking viewer can guess at least ten minutes beforehand, and especially all the plot holes and half-baked execution, I might have given it a “guilty” four stars.
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A fairytale dressed up as an ingenious show for adults. The Illusionist shows its colors in the title. For most of the movie it pretends to be something different than what it is. It seems to be a clever and well thought out picture until the last five minutes when it pulls out its true colors and it turns out to be woefully dumb. I mean the explanation for idiots at the end is so pointless when everything was obvious an hour before the end. I’m more fascinated about the fact that the creators all of a sudden ignore the only part that would have demolished this like a house of cards: the “spirits". This certainly is no disappointment in terms of the acting, but I must admit that I was expecting something more from such a cast. Up until his performance at the Hofburg in front of the nobility, The Illusionist is outstanding, then it is just good and at the end almost ridiculous. Apart from that, it’s a bit longer than is needed to be. But what makes it interesting for the Czechs among us are the filming locations and, for everybody, Glass’s music which occasionally does too much the work itself.
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The Illusionist is very unlucky, since it directly clashed in time with another film about magic, Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, against which it doesn't stand a chance, even without closer examination. While the second film is characterized by its darkness and nerve-wracking complex twists, Neil Burger makes do with only a slightly mysterious atmosphere and simply drawn characters – good-evil-righteous-beautiful. Nevertheless, I liked this straightforward fairytale, even though it has serious flaws of logic in its explanations, but thanks to the suitable magical mood and clearly defined genre rules, it is more than pleasant in its simplicity.
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