The Illusionist
Ok I confess, I’m a huuuuuuge fan of Edward Norton. There. I’ve said it. That being said, The Illusionist has been in my collection for almost a year and I’ve only just gotten around to watching it.
Set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, The Illusionist starts about where it ends. Illusionist, Eisenheim (Norton) sits on a stage during a performance and for some unknown reason is arrested by Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti). Thus the mystery begins.
Flashback some 20 odd years and we’re introduced to the teenage Eisenheim – son of a cabinetmaker, budding magician. He meets and falls in love with Sophie, the Duchess von Teschen (Jessica Biel) and in true classist fashion, their blossoming relationship is trounced on by her “people” and they are forbidden to see each other. Eisenheim leaves town (and the country) and returns many years later as a highly skilled Illusionist. By this time, Sophie is betrothed to the Crown Prince. Luckily for Eisenheim, the Crown Prince is a class prick and falls into full on antagonist immediately.
So at this point I’m questioning whether this is really my kind of movie. This is starting to feel like period piece romance and not aimed at Norton fan boys like myself. Sadly too, Norton is a little bit of a let down, but only in the accent department. I found myself almost giggling at his every (mostly serious) word.
So without giving too much of the story away, it does take a turn for the better about half way through the movie – mainly because someone dies. Yes! Partial redemption for tricking me into watching a chick flick. I was still a little flumoxed at this point though as I’d been promised a decent mystery, and everything really seemed very cut and dry, done and dusted. BAM! Twist ending.
Turns out that while initially The Illusionist appears to be a slightly long winded, romance movie dressed up as a half-baked mystery it really is a very well thought out and clever story with one of the best cinema punchlines ever (next to Fight Club of course). I think I would have even rated it a full 4.5 if it weren’t for the fact it almost lost me twice.
Definitely going on my must-watch-again list – if only to look for subtle clues of the finale.
Read more at IMDB.com
Buy this movie at MightyApe
03
Aug
Yes I must admit for a movie that I didn’t pay that much attention to, the ending was cool!
I’m glad you showed this page briefly in your presentation today. I’ve had it as well, but never gotten around to watching it. It was awesome! Still a bit puzzled by the ending, so will have to watch it again.
Yeah I think it’s a bit like Fight Club in that sense… next time you watch you’ll take in a whole lot more of what’s going on. I haven’t got to viewing number 2 yet!
Thanks for your presentation too, definitely gonna write a blog post later to profile your concept. Everyone here will love it!