The Illusionist (possible spoilers)

In 2006 there were two movies about magic released- The Prestige and The Illusionist. That is where the similarities end, though in regards to the plots of the movies. Whereas the Prestige was about obsession and the behind the scenes of magic, The Illusionist is about love beauty and the supernatural, almost. In this movie, Magic is essentially a means for philosophical debate and we are never clued in to how any of the “tricks” work. By the way, both are just fantastic! This movie starts in the present and then goes to the beginning of the story. Edward Norton is our magician and when he was a child he had a best friend who was a female. They fell in love because of their love of magic but she was rich and he was poor. She was forbidden to see him and we cut to 15 years later. Norton is now an established magician and is making his money with an astonishingly gorgeous trick of making an orange tree grow in mere seconds. Police Chief Paul Giamatti is enamored by the show and tells the Prince. The Prince takes in the show the next night and when Norton asks for crowd participation, the prince offers his girlfriend. She turns out to be the childhood friend of Norton and then the movie kicks into high gear. The trick Norton does with her is a mesmerizing trick of mirrors and death and the connection is instant.


The rest of the movie is a barrage of slight of hand and a classic who done it. The visuals are brilliant and the tricks just get better and better until you see why Norton was given the name “The Illusionist.” Norton, one of my favorite actors, brilliantly underplays his magician, using his face and hands to often tell the story where words won’t work. Jessica Biel plays his lover and she is out to prove her merit as an actress. She does well here too, proving she is more than just a pretty face with an oft amazing bikini clad figure. Here she uses that chip on her shoulder to create a female fighting for love and her own individuality. The always solid Paul Giamatti takes what could have been a very stock character and gives him nuance and a soul, a man debating within himself about the merits of his job and a love for magic. Rufus Sewell is the prince and the villain of the film, or is he? He does a great job not over acting in a part that could have easily turned into a scene chewer,


In the realm of brilliant films released in 2006, this falls in the middle. This would have made my top 10 of 2006 for a number of reasons. First off the acting and directing are just top notch, secondly, the visuals of the magic are just stunning and even more stunning are some of the shots not dealing with magic. Twice we see Giamatti storming a hall way draped in horns from killed animals and the shot is just perfect. I also like the philosophical questions posed by the magic. If we could speed up or slow down time would we? What if we could be visited by lost souls? Is the soul eternal? Everything is gorgeous and perfect. I would rank this below the Prestige as far as magic movies go, but I enjoyed that this movie allowed us to believe in the miracles of magic without showing us how everything worked.