THE STORY: In a world where nothing is as it appears, an illusionist and a police inspector face off in a challenge of wills that attempts to determine where reality ends and magic begins…all the while blurring the line between power and corruption, love and devotion, vigilance and mania and ultimately, life and death.
A supernatural mystery that combines romance, politics and magic, The Illusionist is the latest film from the producers of the Oscar® winners Crash and Sideways. The film stars Academy Award® nominees Edward Norton (Fight Club, American History X) and Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man, Sideways) as two men pitted against each other in a battle of wits. Norton plays a mysterious stage magician, Eisenheim, who bends nature’s laws to his will in front of awestruck crowds. Giamatti co-stars as Vienna’s shrewd Chief Inspector Uhl, a man committed to uphold the law and for whom magic holds no place in his ordered world. Jessica Biel (Elizabethtown) shares the screen as the beautiful and enigmatic Sophie von Teschen, who finds her future inexorably altered when she encounters the man called Eisenheim, and Eisenheim comes dangerously close to unlocking the dark secret of the monarchy that she holds.
THE ILLUSIONIST
When Eisenheim begins to perform his astounding illusions in Vienna, word quickly spreads of his otherworldly powers…even reaching the ears of one of Europe’s most powerful and pragmatic men, Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell, Dark City). Certain that the illusionist is nothing more than an accomplished fraud, Leopold attends one of Eisenheim’s shows, convinced that he can debunk him during the performance. But when the Prince’s beautiful fiancé and companion, Sophie von Teschen, assists the magician onstage, Eisenheim and Sophie recognize each other from their childhoods-and a dormant love affair is rekindled. With Eisenheim and Leopold vying for Sophie’s affection, it quickly becomes apparent that both will go to any length to claim and keep her love.
As the clandestine romance continues, Uhl is charged by Leopold to intensify his efforts to expose Eisenheim, even while the magician gains a devoted and vocal public following. With Uhl doggedly searching for the reasons and the man behind the trickery, Eisenheim prepares to execute his greatest illusion yet.
THE REVIEW: The beauty of the Illusionist is the illusion and allure that is hidden behind every scene. The Illusionist is full of love, entanglement, mystery, and intrigue. What’s not to love? By the way—did I mention there is magic and Ed Norton?
THE ILLUSIONIST
Ed Norton is again at his best. He’s slagged off for a few years, but he is back full of stern delight and dances fluidly through this lovely world of magic. Norton plays so intense that you never feel tricked by a movie full of magic. Norton is at his best of with great material and he is handed a gold mine. Paul Giamatti is no slouch either as the police chief. Props must go out to Jessica Biel who holds her own in a part that would never seem to fit her considering her past performances.
FRANKLY: So many movies try to slip in the twist under a veil only to pull it out the hat at the eleventh hour—most of the time we are already suspicious of the result. The Illusionist keeps everything hidden and its hard to judge what is real, what is false, and what is supposed to be a simple slight of hand. The Illusionist works because of the perfect performance of Edward Norton who one-ups Johnny Depp this year.
+ Charlie Craine
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