Juliana lauThe scene opens on a street in turn-of-the-century Vienna, where a dilapidated and unremarkable theatre is bursting with people.
Onstage, a bearded man walks up to thundering applause and sits on an uncomfortable-looking wooden chair. He raises his right arm and narrows his eyes, frowning a look that can only be described as “constipated”.
Decked in drab commoner clothes, he is the one who everybody has come to see: Eisenheim (played by Golden Globe winner Edward Norton), the titular Illusionist.
Slowly, a bright orb begins to grow beneath Eisenheim’s outstretched hand. In the midst of his act, a man suddenly jumps up onstage, hastily introduces himself as Chief Police Inspector Uhl and declares Eisenheim be arrested on the count of fraud for passing off necromancy as an elaborate magic show. The massive crowd begins to protest and with that, the scene fades to black.
Loosely based on a short fictional written by Steven Millhauser, The Illusionist is about the successful Viennese magician Eisenheim during the early 1900s.
As the scene reopens, the audience is left wondering about Eisenheim as all we see is Leopold (Rufus Sewell), the crown prince of Vienna, chastising Chief Inspector Uhl (played by Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti) for being late and requesting for a report on Eisenheim’s history. This paves a way for the audience to understand what’s going on prior to the rather confusing introductory scenes.
Born a cabinet-maker’s son, the young Eisenheim (Aaron Johnson) first became interested in magic after a chance encounter with a street magician and began practicing all sorts of magic tricks, catching the eye of a young duchess, Sophie (Eleanor Tomlinson). Love blossomed, but the affair between the commoner and the aristocrat seemed doomed from the start.
While attempting to elope, Eisenheim and Sophie hid from her captors and before they’re found, she urges him to “make [them] disappear”. Failing to do so, she was caught and the plea she made prior to her capture becomes his goal later on in the movie.
After the incident, Eisenheim leaves to travel the world and only returns fifteen years later as an accomplished magician. In attendance at one of his shows is Inspector Uhl, who seems to be in great awe of the magician. Word spreads and soon, the Crown Prince and his entourage attend one of Eisenheim’s shows as well. To conclude that particular show with a bang, the magician asks for a volunteer and in a comical moment, the Crown Prince stands up with his chest puffed out, only to volunteer his fiancé.
As the lady walks up onstage, she appears to be none other than Duchess Sophie (now played by Jessica Biel), Eisenheim’s long-lost love. He performs the trick flawlessly and, upon congratulating the magician afterwards, the Crown Prince invites the illusionist to perform privately for some guests of his.
The private performance goes perfectly as well, yet the immature Crown Prince becomes unhappy when Eisenheim challenges him and forcefully demands Inspector Uhl to “shut him down”. In the meantime, Sophie and Eisenheim fall back in love (a bit too quickly, this reporter might add) which culminates into an unfortunately well-edited sex scene which prevents us from seeing more of Biel who, according to IMDb.com, was “voted ‘Sexiest Woman Alive’ by Esquire magazine in 2005”.
Inspector Uhl finds out about the affair, and loyally reports back to the Crown Prince. Angered by her infidelity, the prince confronts her, chasing her toward the stables in a drunken rage and then, Sophie’s limp body on her horse as it trots away. The audience is left to conclude that the Crown Prince killed Sophie … Or so we’d like to think.
Without giving away too much, The Illusionist is a story that captures you the moment it starts. Though the scene transition effects may seem a bit amateurish, the beautiful cinematography, bewitching score and realistic set dressing more than make up for that.
Director Neil Burger cleverly tints the film with a strong sepia effect and it is reminiscent of those old motion pictures. It suits the movie well, magically (pun unintended) transporting the audience back into the 1900s, adding a touch of realism to the show. Moreover, even though the bulk of the movie is made up of a large flashback, it doesn’t confuse the audience as most flashback movies do, and is timed perfectly.
Running at 110 mins, The Illusionist does get draggy at times. It could certainly do without the lengthy explanation of Eisenheim’s childhood and other unnecessary scenes that don’t have much to do with the overall plot.
The cast performs effectively. Norton’s Eisenheim is a complex character and he does extremely well in portraying a man deeply in love, a sharp contrast to his debut film performance in 1996 as a psychotic alter boy in Primal Fear.
Despite being in the company of accomplished stars, 7th Heaven star Biel manages to hold her own and successfully portrays Sophie as a ‘poor little rich girl’ while Sewell is completely believable as the ruthless Crown Prince with a hidden agenda.
Similar to his Academy Award-nominated role in Sideways in which he had to choose between loyalty to and frustration at his friend, Giamatti plays a police inspector torn between his allegiance to the Crown Prince and his morals. He gives a stand out performance as Inspector Uhl and according to a review by Jeffrey Lyons of NBC’s REEL TALK, “Giamatti has, with his movie, cemented his position as one of America’s finest actors”.
The Illusionist, one of three 2006 movies that touches on magic, does well to set itself apart from competitors, The Prestige and Scoop. Aside from the sometimes-dreary moments that would leave you fidgeting in your seat, The Illusionist draws you into a world where gloves turn into birds and orange trees grow in a matter of seconds.
Simply put, it’s a magic show.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Movie Details:
Opens: 18 January
Runtime: 110 minutes
Cast: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell
Director: Neil Burger