Starring: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell, Jessica Biel
Director: Neil Burger
Written By: Neil Burger (screenplay), Steven Millhauser (short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist")
I saw 'The Illusionist' back in 2006 without knowing what to expect. I hadn't seen the movie trailer and did not know that Edward Norton played the title character until I saw the movie poster outside the theater.
'The Illusionist' is the story of a magician named Edward 'Eisenheim' Abramovich (Edward Norton), an Austrian cabinet maker's son, who falls in love with Sophie (Jessica Biel). As a young boy, Edward (Aaron Johnson) is intrigued by tricks and illusions. One day, a young Sophie (Eleanor Tomlinson) sees Edward walking down the street, balancing an egg on a stick. Sophie follows him and they talk to each other till her chaperons taker her away. But their friendship continues in secret, until they are finally discovered, crouched in each other’s arms, in a woodcutter’s hut in the forest. She is virtually held under house arrest, while he runs away.
Fifteen years later, Edward re-emerges in Vienna as Eisenheim, The Illusionist, and becomes an immediate sensation. It is during one of his shows, which the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) attends, that he meets Sophie again, resurrecting their love for each other. But Sophie is a noblewoman betrothed to the Crown Prince, who not only has a history of violence against women but is also planning to overthrow his father, the emporer, and take the throne himself.
When Eisenheim insults Leopold during a private show, Leopold orders Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) to shutdown Eisenheim's shows. Uhl does as he is told and has his men tail Eisenheim. When Uhl learns of Eisenheim's plan to elope with Sophie, he informs Leopold that Eisenheim and Sophie have been meeting secretly and may be planning something together. Leopold, while drunk, confronts Sophie and she is found dead later.
A devastated Eisenheim falls into seclusion, but continues to perform as a magician. Soon, he makes contact with Sophie from beyond the grave giving enough of a twist to the plot to keep it very interesting.
Overall Conclusion: The pace of the movie is slow but it is very engaging. 'The Illusionist' is well written. with some solid acting. Edward Norton plays the brooding Eisenheim very well. However, the best performances were by both Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell. Rufus Sewell is believable as the shrewd, sinster and power hungry Leopold. Giamatti is very convicing as a person who is torn between his loyalty to the royal household and his duty as the Chief Inspector. Jessica Biel's role is somewhat limited but she is as beautiful as ever. Definitely a movie worth watching.
Rating: 8/10
'The Illusionist' is the story of a magician named Edward 'Eisenheim' Abramovich (Edward Norton), an Austrian cabinet maker's son, who falls in love with Sophie (Jessica Biel). As a young boy, Edward (Aaron Johnson) is intrigued by tricks and illusions. One day, a young Sophie (Eleanor Tomlinson) sees Edward walking down the street, balancing an egg on a stick. Sophie follows him and they talk to each other till her chaperons taker her away. But their friendship continues in secret, until they are finally discovered, crouched in each other’s arms, in a woodcutter’s hut in the forest. She is virtually held under house arrest, while he runs away.
Fifteen years later, Edward re-emerges in Vienna as Eisenheim, The Illusionist, and becomes an immediate sensation. It is during one of his shows, which the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) attends, that he meets Sophie again, resurrecting their love for each other. But Sophie is a noblewoman betrothed to the Crown Prince, who not only has a history of violence against women but is also planning to overthrow his father, the emporer, and take the throne himself.
When Eisenheim insults Leopold during a private show, Leopold orders Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) to shutdown Eisenheim's shows. Uhl does as he is told and has his men tail Eisenheim. When Uhl learns of Eisenheim's plan to elope with Sophie, he informs Leopold that Eisenheim and Sophie have been meeting secretly and may be planning something together. Leopold, while drunk, confronts Sophie and she is found dead later.
A devastated Eisenheim falls into seclusion, but continues to perform as a magician. Soon, he makes contact with Sophie from beyond the grave giving enough of a twist to the plot to keep it very interesting.
Overall Conclusion: The pace of the movie is slow but it is very engaging. 'The Illusionist' is well written. with some solid acting. Edward Norton plays the brooding Eisenheim very well. However, the best performances were by both Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell. Rufus Sewell is believable as the shrewd, sinster and power hungry Leopold. Giamatti is very convicing as a person who is torn between his loyalty to the royal household and his duty as the Chief Inspector. Jessica Biel's role is somewhat limited but she is as beautiful as ever. Definitely a movie worth watching.
Rating: 8/10
1 comments:
I had a very similar experience watching this movie - only I didn't know about Edward Norton then except for you telling me about this guy sometime and I was thinking of Bob Gunton for some reason. Needless to say, I was blown away by his performance and a fan of him ever since. And, I totally agree with you; Jessica Biel was beautiful in this movie! :)
If you want to watch a similar movie, give The Prestige a shot if you haven't seen it already (I really doubt that; you must have seen that too). That's another 8/10 movie with amazing plot twists.
Thanks, excellent review!
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