The Illusionist

This week, I had a chance to see a few of my favorite actors do their thing. Edward Norton, paired against Paul Giamatti, complimented by a side order of Jessica Beil. Such a tasty couple of hours. All together, they tell the tale of Eisenheim, The Illusionist.

Neil Burger brings us the story of a man influenced at a very young age by a traveling magician. After a broken love affair with a woman of a much higher class status than he, Eisenheim travels the globe in search of the great magicians of the world. He learns the dark secrets of the magicians, and brings his act back to Vienna to impress the crowds. And as he takes the stage to perform his trick involving the spirit, he calls upon a woman from the crowd, a fiance of the emperor's son, and of course, he old childhood lover. Once the two recognize each other, a passionate love affair pops up, and, following the path of so many films, the emperor's son finds out, and vows revenge.

But there's something that sets this film apart from the others. Perhaps it was the score, written by Phillip Glass. He tends to produce very thematic music, focusing on the ideals of minimalist music. The only problem with this: the music tends to repeat--a lot. But it did help during growing tension. It's certainly a plus when the score compliments the film in such a way that we actually notice.

The problem with the story doesn't come from the plot idea, but from the fact that about half way through, most people are going to be able to guess the ending, within a small margin, as to what will happen. The director and the writer seemed to come up with a good idea, and the flow in which we would be carried through, but about half way, we seem to be tossed a little too much of the story, and can piece together the rest of the plot.

I'm not saying that it's not an enjoyable experience. It's always fun to know what will happen, but remain interested through our desire to find out just how it happens. That's when we rely on the interesting nature of our characters.

Jessica Beil plays a primped up Vienna princess, and she does it fairly well. She maintains the restraint expected of women at the time, and even sometimes breaks out to show us a little bit of the desire that she has for her Illusionist. The problem is, there wasn't much else to her. As for Norton, he seemed to perform the role very well, but it also seemed that there wasn't much to his struggles and strife dealing with all the things he has to (vague, but no spoilers.)

But the main character drive comes from Paul Giamatti, looking for the bounce-back after the nasty Lady in the Water mess. And I think he achieves it. He seemed to me the only character that had real feelings and frustrations about his place in society. He plays a character who has a love of art, and magic, but also has a strong dedication to a corrupt prince, and must abide his desires when it comes to the law, and 'looking the other way.' He must choose between what he knows is right, his desire for happiness, and his solidification as the governor of the city. In the end, I was pleased with his performance, and smiled graciously at the change of pace.

There was an interesting touch to the cinematography: the edges of the film were sometimes blacked out, giving the film the turn-of-the-century feeling, as if it were actually shot on some box of a camera near the same time period. The transitions were all circle based, most easily described as similar to Star Wars transitions. But it was interesting and visually challenging enough to keep my attention, as well as make me smile every now and then. It was a good watch, and a fun experience.

So, when it comes down to it, one must rate what a predictable ending, and somewhat faux characters will do to a rating. I had a good time, and I think that's what matters here. It was one of those films that you go to, and enjoy the watch. I can only hope that it maintains some of its Prestige when its major competitor comes out in a few weeks! HA. 7.25 of 10.