A couple of years back, Hollywood went through a minor, short-lived run of magician movies, highlighted by "The Prestige" and "The Illusionist." These two films came out at nearly the same time, but "The Illusionist" was far the superior, mostly because of the uncanny acting.
Edward Norton gives his best performance since "American History X" and "Primal Fear," starring as master magician Edward Eisenheim. His showing is bolstered by the always-phenomenal Paul Giamatti, who is captivating as Inspector Uhl.
Based on a short story by Steven Millhauser, "The Illusionist" follows a forbidden-love story in 20th-century Vienna. The familiar plot of the peasant boy (Eisenheim) and the duchess (Sophie, played by Jessica Biel) falling in love makes up the first half an hour or so of the film, but that aspect of the tale ends when Eisenheim is forced to flee by the duchess's family and guards.
Years later, fate intervenes to reunite the two. Eisenheim has ascended to the level of being considered the finest magician in the realm, while Sophie is engaged to be married to the philandering and abusive Crown Prince Leopold. During one of his shows after he returns to Vienna, Eisenheim calls Sophie on stage for a trick, and upon recognizing her, cleverly asks, "We've never met before, have we?"
After a personal invitation for a private performance in front of Leopold and his entourage, Eisenheim finally has a chance to speak with Sophie and rekindle their relationship. They begin meeting on the sly to try to understand how they lost track of each other and try to come to terms with what has brought them back together. She still wears a wooden charm necklace that he made for her as a child, and he tells her about how he journeyed to all corners of the globe in an effort to perfect his craft and penetrate all mysteries … yet, "the only mystery I never solved was why my heart couldn't let go of you." Of course, this reunion ends with the two of them rolling around Eisenheim's cabin in the woods, with the magician trying several lewd tricks to Sophie's apparent delight.
Jealous and frustrated by Eisenheim's amazing tricks and suspicious of his background, Leopold has his inspector, Uhl, begin to keep tabs on the magician. The shared childhood of Eisenheim and Sophie is eventually discovered by Uhl, who serves as a middle man between the battle of wills being waged by Eisenheim and Leopold. When Leopold is told of the secret rendezvous' and pre-existing relationship between the magician and his fiancé, the prince tells the inspector to find a way to bring down Eisenheim.
Meanwhile, Leopold confront his fiancé, telling her, "You think you're clever—and quite democratic in your friendships." After he hits her, she flees, and is later found dead in a stream, the mortal wound caused by a sword that most suspect belongs to Leopold himself.
Even though we are showed the body of Sophie and told that she is killed, it is hard to get past the belief that it is all a ruse, calling into question whether a magician's greatest trick might just be stealing a woman. It's a somewhat odd resolution to follow, because it's hard to get past the idea that something shady is up, that Sophie must still be alive somewhere and Eisenheim is undoubtedly behind it all.
After a pawn is put up and punished for being Sophie's murderer—which no one believes—a bitter and driven Eisenheim returns to the entertainment scene in Vienna, firing his manager, buying an old theater, renovating it and unveiling a new show, marked by a poster that simply states "Eisenheim." The magician tells his audience that he bends nature's laws, that he calls into question life and death, time and space, fate and chance. Uhl is ordered to continue following him, and when Eisenheim begins to summon illusions of dead people — which makes him truly become "The Illusionist" — the inspector basically arrests him for ghosts. Accused of charlatanism, necromancy, subverting the monarchy and double-parking, Eisenheim is repeatedly hassled by the authorities and threatened.
However, at some point, we recognize that Eisenheim has slowly started to win over the inspector, who tells someone, "A magic trick is not evidence." Uhl begins to see things the magician's way partially because of Eisenheim's apparent true love for Sophie and partially because of the recognition that Leopold is truly a sadistic bitch. Uhl eventually learns that Leopold has forged a hidden plot to overthrow his father, the king, and install himself as the monarch by way of coup.
The last scene where a disguised Leopold attends Eisenheim's final show is marked by incredible tension, and ends with a finale in which Eisenheim seemingly fades into nothingness. Afterward, when the magician cannot be found, Uhl confront his boss, Leopold, saying, "Perhaps there's truth in this illusion." Leopold then commits suicide, which would appear to have ended the speculation about Sophie's murderer and saved the monarchy.
But Uhl is unable to get Eisenheim's words — "What does it mean to die?" — out of his head and can't shake the feeling that the magician has pulled off his most amazing trick. Teased by the magician's purposely placed clues, Uhl finally unravels Eisenheim's plan and how he pulled it all off. The memorable final scene is marked by a montage and music that reveals the incredible twist.
The movie is shot like a dream at times, using slow-motion and blurred-edge techniques. These directorial decisions lend to the fairy-tale feeling that this film inspires, which only adds to the various plot lines, ranging from reunited lovers to the dark arts to conspiracies.
On an acting level, Biel just may have the best caboose in Hollywood, but her big teeth and inconsistent accent made her a difficult fit here. I've been an Edward Norton fan for quite a while—aided in no small way by admiration for anyone who has dated Salma Hayek—and his understated demeanor is perfectly complemented by the versatile, near-manic Giamatti.
The bottom line is that if you like fairy-tale-like period pieces carried by tremendous actors, then "The Illusionist" is certainly worth giving a spin.
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