The Illusionist

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source: The Illusionist

SIFF 2006, Opening Night Thursday May 25, 7:00pm The Paramount Theater Once upon a time a peasant boy and a princess fell in love. The boy was driven away, only to return an accomplished magician, intent on winning back the princess from the evil prince. Neil Burger's The Illusionist is as complex as a child's bedtime story but without an ounce of surprise or originality. Eisenheim (Edward Norton) is appropriately austere, mysterious and the effects used to create his stage fabrications are technically beautiful, but the story reads like a facsimile of been there, done that. Sophie (Jessica Biel) is ravishing and dewy-eyed but has little to do. Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) plays a cartoonish villain and Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) is downright annoying. The concept and design are wonderful but bad Austrian accents, a disappointingly abrupt resolution and a tacked on montage revealing the true story further the disappointment in what might have been a much better film.

But clearly one of the most disappointing and overrated. 7.7 at IMDb? Wow, I had a very much different experience from the majority of folks here. I concede that the scenery was great, but there were a number of factors that completely ruined the film for me. Here a just a few: First, was the end supposed to be a surprise? My gosh, it was telegraphed before the "murder" ever happened. At the Big Reveal, it played like an M. Night Shyamalan wannabe flick, except way more obvious. I can't believe that many people "fell for it." I genuinely thought (or hoped) that the climax was going to *not* be that. Second, the illusions performed by Eisenheim were simply unbelievable. The fact that it was clearly CGI and not even remotely genuine illusion distracted from the authenticity of the story. If we could expect him to really do these things through trickery or actual supernatural power, then he is capable of way more than the movie delivered. He could have spirited away with Sophie in a much less contrived fashion. Third, Giamatti as the Inspector seems absolutely amused to realize that he's been a pawn manipulated to investigate a murder that never even happened, a scheme that nearly resulted in his own demise. Oh, those crazy lovers!

I have to say I was a little bit disappointed with The Illusionist. It had top-notch production values and a classy cast, but it was not quite enough. It was more of a crime/love drama than a magician story. I'm sitting there waiting for more magic tricks, and explanations for the ridiculously great acts he performs, but the story won't go there. It just focuses on the love story, like a hundred thousand other movies. To me, it was boring. It didn't deliver. Sure, I didn't see the end coming, and it was logical enough, but not that impressive. How did he create those intangible holograms? No explanation. That's just silly. I went to see "Perfume - The Story of a Murderer" on the same day as I saw The Illusionist, and the former movie was much superior. An art movie. Whereas The Illusionist is just well-produced fluff. 6 out of 10.

Although I spotted the inevitable conclusion coming about half way through the film (Jessica Biel and Ed Norton are discussing a possible future together; her pragmatic analysis of what would need to take place set off alarm bells for me that ultimately proved my instincts correct), it is a testament to the film that I was still engaged enough to see how all of the pieces in the story would fall into place. 'The Illusionist' is a fairly decent example of a script that sets up a certain number of expectations and then toys with the outcomes before knocking them all down like dominoes. There are three main reasons to watch 'The Illusionist.' The first reason is that the script isn't too bad. I was with a group of friends. Two of us guessed correctly how the film was going to develop. The other five were quite surprised by the film's ending. None of us were disappointed and the film got an ovation from the audience when it was over. I would describe 'The Illusionist' as a mystery or a puzzle. If you like films that make the grey matter between your ears do a little work, you might just find yourself pleasantly surprised -- that said, there isn't anything so taxing here as to make the film overly complex or convoluted. The second reason to watch this film is the involvement of Ricky Jay. He's in the credits for consultation and as one of the best magicians working today in Hollywood, it is worth your time to take a look at the film to see some of his influence. I'll be interested when this comes out on DVD to find out the degree of involvement. If the producers were smart, they probably listened a lot to a man who is in the Guiness book of World Records for his use of playing cards as weapons! My third reason to recommend 'The Illusionist' is some excellent work from the three main male leads: Paul Giamatti, Ed Norton and Rufus Sewell. As a qualifier, let me add that Jessica Biel does a pretty good job too -- I just found that the energy and zeal with which her male counterparts performed ate up the screen and left her adrift. There's a little joke in there you might find funny after you've watched the film. Ed Norton is very controlled and restrained here, Rufus Sewell seems to relish every scene he's in with villainous delight and Paul Giamatti shines as the police inspector with a taste for amateur magic. Giamatti has a gift for facial expressions and, as a friend of mine hilariously put it, in his final scene his facial expression is 'six degrees of crazy.' I love that! These are three compelling performances and although you might see your way through the contrivances of the script, the good performances should be more than enough to keep you entertained. 'The Illusionist' isn't bad. A good little mystery with some nice acting all around.