CNS Movie Review: The Illusionist

The Illusionist

By Harry Forbes
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Does he or doesn't he have fantastic powers? Until the very end of the film, you're never quite sure about Eisenheim, the mysterious magician who holds the Viennese public of a century ago in thrall.

"The Illusionist" (Yari Film Group) is a grippingly atmospheric romantic tale about that performer, played by Edward Norton, who loves Sophie, a noblewoman (Jessica Biel). She is unwillingly betrothed to Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), who demands that Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) -- a decent man, but anxious for advancement -- prove the magician a fraud.

Adapted from a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winner Steven Millhauser, the film begins with Eisenheim's arrest by Uhl, who reports back to Leopold that he has carried out his wish. (Leopold is plotting to overthrow his father, the emperor, whose longevity irks the ambitious son.)

Thereafter, the story unfolds in flashback. Years earlier, Eisenheim, a lower-class boy, had fallen in love with young Sophie, who was well above his station. Their attempt to run off together was foiled, and they would not see each other again till years later.

Now grown, Eisenheim is displaying wondrous feats in a local theater, and Uhl is stunned by some of his illusions, which include making an orange tree grow on stage.

Later, Leopold himself attends with Sophie, and the prince volunteers her for one of Eisenheim's feats. When she is hypnotized on stage, they silently recognize each other from childhood.

The rational -- if mentally unbalanced -- Leopold has little tolerance for false beliefs, and even before he realizes Eisenheim is his rival, resents the latter's hold over a gullible public. Thereafter, on Leopold's bidding, Uhl hounds Eisenheim like a benign Javert (from "Les Miserables").

Leopold (who, we also learn, is abusive to women) hopes to marry Sophie for strategic ends, but she and Eisenheim again plan an escape.

We won't spoil the plot, with its several Hitchcockian turns, but suffice it to say, things go awry, and writer-director Neil Burger lets the compelling tale unfold beautifully.

There's a haunting score by Philip Glass, and Dick Pope's gaslit, sepia-toned cinematography is exquisite. Themes of superstition's hold on the public, the rise of scientific thought, and the decline of the aristocracy are unobtrusively woven throughout.

Norton is ideal as Eisenheim, radiating the serene confidence of some inner power; Biel projects real patrician grace; and Sewell expertly etches Leopold as a genuine rationalist beneath the madness, while the amazing Giamatti, in a stunning change of pace, impresses as an aggressive but sympathetic pursuer.

The shots of audience reaction are unusually convincing, as they watch with awe as the laws of nature seem to be turned on their ear. The magic tricks are wondrously recreated.

This is cinematic storytelling at its best.

This film contains a brief sexual encounter with suggested nudity, some domestic violence, a suicide and a few crass expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.

END

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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