The Illusionist
2006  PG-13  DRAMA  1h 40min
CAST— Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, Edward (Eddie) Marsan, Jake Wood, Tom Fisher
MUSIC— Phillip Glass  DIRECTOR— Neil Burger  BASED ON— Eisenheim the Illusionist (story), by Steven Millhauser

     A sensational sleeper that is as artful as it is elegant. In 1800s Austria a mysterious magician (Edward Norton) is wowing his audiences with every performance, eventually garnering attention from an admiring police officer (Paul Giamatti). The act even catches the eye of the prince (Rufus Sewell), whose entourage includes his fiancée, a beautiful duchess (Jessica Biel) with whom Norton shares a secret past. The prince has Giamatti use the police to tail Norton, a task that Giamatti (a self proclaimed amateur magician) is only too happy to carry out. What Giamatti learns is that Norton and Biel have reunited, and they’ve been up to a bit more than a little prestidigitation. If this scandal becomes public the prince will lose favor with the people, thereby shattering his plot to usurp the throne from his father. In a drunken rage Sewell kills Biel, her murder sending Norton into a dismal depression that takes shape in his act; he soon starts summoning the dead… or does he? (It’s all an illusion, remember?) An immersive experience that evokes the age of silent film, utilizing sepia and color-bleached tones as well as modern techniques to create a truly magical drama (with a heck of a knockout twist, one might add). Unexpectedly different in tone from The Prestige (also released in 2006) and thankfully worlds beyond The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), this intelligent magician’s tale is simple and self-explanatory, yet invites multiple viewings. For those in the mood for a thoughtful, quality (yet unappreciated) gem.
OUR RATING— *** ½