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By WAYNE KLEIN
Set against the backdrop of
turn-of-the-century Vienna "The Illusionist" uses
slight-of-hand story telling and is a visually
stunning treat. Magician Eisenheim (Edward Norton)
returns to Vienna after wandering the world
learning the tricks of his trade. His magic
dazzles people but a former romance with the crown
prince of Vienna's (Rufus Sewell) fiancée Sophie
(Jessica Biel) threatens to derail his career when
Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti in a stunning
performance) is charged with arresting him or
running him out of the city. When someone is
murdered Eisenheim finds himself constantly being
watched and under threat of arrest.
Director Neil Burger has created a marvelous
period piece with an intriguing romantic thriller
at the heart of this film. The beautiful
cinematography and Phillip Glass' marvelous score
are wonderfully recreated on this sharp looking
DVD. "The Illusionist" was a pleasant surprise
with its strong performances and deft direction by
Neil Burger. I should warn fans of fast paced
action thrillers that this film takes its time in
unspooling the story but the pacing works for the
film. Quite different from the equally compelling
"The Prestige" Burger (who's only previous film
was a faux documentary on the actual assassin of
JFK) uses his own slight of hand to create this
compelling thriller.
Fans expecting a lot of special features will be
disappointed by the paltry ones included here. I
suspect that there will probably be a special
edition down the road, because considering the
magic the film produces, there's a lot more that
could be discussed/shown. We get a 9-minute
featurette with the cast and crew discussing how
enticed they were with the material. There's also
an interview with Jessica Biel discussing the film
(which is an extension of the interview featured
in the making of featurette on the film). The best
special feature is the running commentary by
director Neil Burger (sadly Giamatti, Norton and
Biel are missing from the commentary track).
Burger discusses his opinions of the actors (he
was surprised and impressed with what Biel brought
to her performance and points out the little
touches that Norton & Giamatti introduced to their
characters to bring added depth) to the magic
tricks seen in the film whether they are "real"
magic or CGI magic. It's an interesting commentary
track but I'd watch the film first all the way
through as there are spoilers in the commentary
track.
While there are many who insist on comparing "The
Illusionist" and "The Prestige" (the other movie
set against the background of magic) the only
thing they share in common is a mystery and the
magic. In "The Illusionist" the magic background
is used for a romantic mystery-thriller while "The
Prestige" uses the same backdrop for a tale of
obsession, rivalry and revenge. Beyond that the
films have little in common (including the way the
stories are told). Comparing the two is like
comparing the flavor of an orange and a
tangerine--they're both fruit, both citrus but
both have their own unique flavor. Sure some
people will prefer one to the other but that
doesn't mean one is inherently superior to the
other--it depends on one's preference. |
