The Illusionist[2006]
Starring:
Edward Norton
Paul Giamatti
Jessica Biel
Rufus Sewell
average rating: ★★★
~
performance: ★★★
screenplay: ★★★
plot/storyline: ★★
cinematography: ★★★
~
19th Century England/Mysteryish
We didn't particularly expect much from this movie, despite the exaggerated praise given by who wrote the review on the back of the DVD case. And as we expected, it wasn't very impressive.
The way the story unfolds is told backwards - beginning with a scene close to the end, and then starting back at the beginning as being told by the Chief Inspector (Giamatti) to the Crown Prince (Sewell).
The story is about a son of a cabinet-maker who was secretly best friends with a upperclass girl, and how they were found out and rudely separated, and how he then learned the art of illusions and ran away to make his fortune performing. And he did. Now older (Norton), he calls himself Eisenheim the Illusionist and he is apparently quite expert. He meets his childhood friend again, (Biel) who is now Duchess Sophie. But Sophie is to marry the Crown Prince Leopold, and can never be with poor Eisenheim. It's all very sad, I'm sure.
The rest of the story tells of how Eisenheim and Sophie concoct a plan that they don't tell the audience about, of how the Inspector is watching their every move - sometimes seeming evil, sometimes on Eisenheim's side - but all along wanting to know the secret of Eisenheim's magic, and of how the ugly Prince finds out that Sophie and Eisenheim are chummy... then, of course, disaster strikes, because he's a very evil Prince.
Generally, this was a sloppy movie. If it had been done well, it would have had a convoluted and mysterious plot, with a jolly great ending that left you wondering how you could be so stupid as to have missed those minor details that gave it all away. But it wasn't. I do think that such a plot was in the filmmakers minds when they started this movie, but it flopped, leaving us with an ending we all knew was going to be there and an explanation that was ridiculously silly.
The performances, costume design, and special effects were all mediocre and kind of flat. In fact, the only really interesting part of the movie was the locket that Eisenheim made for Sophie. Isn't that sad?
Edward Norton
Paul Giamatti
Jessica Biel
Rufus Sewell
average rating: ★★★
~
performance: ★★★
screenplay: ★★★
plot/storyline: ★★
cinematography: ★★★
~
19th Century England/Mysteryish
We didn't particularly expect much from this movie, despite the exaggerated praise given by who wrote the review on the back of the DVD case. And as we expected, it wasn't very impressive.
The way the story unfolds is told backwards - beginning with a scene close to the end, and then starting back at the beginning as being told by the Chief Inspector (Giamatti) to the Crown Prince (Sewell).
The story is about a son of a cabinet-maker who was secretly best friends with a upperclass girl, and how they were found out and rudely separated, and how he then learned the art of illusions and ran away to make his fortune performing. And he did. Now older (Norton), he calls himself Eisenheim the Illusionist and he is apparently quite expert. He meets his childhood friend again, (Biel) who is now Duchess Sophie. But Sophie is to marry the Crown Prince Leopold, and can never be with poor Eisenheim. It's all very sad, I'm sure.
The rest of the story tells of how Eisenheim and Sophie concoct a plan that they don't tell the audience about, of how the Inspector is watching their every move - sometimes seeming evil, sometimes on Eisenheim's side - but all along wanting to know the secret of Eisenheim's magic, and of how the ugly Prince finds out that Sophie and Eisenheim are chummy... then, of course, disaster strikes, because he's a very evil Prince.
Generally, this was a sloppy movie. If it had been done well, it would have had a convoluted and mysterious plot, with a jolly great ending that left you wondering how you could be so stupid as to have missed those minor details that gave it all away. But it wasn't. I do think that such a plot was in the filmmakers minds when they started this movie, but it flopped, leaving us with an ending we all knew was going to be there and an explanation that was ridiculously silly.
The performances, costume design, and special effects were all mediocre and kind of flat. In fact, the only really interesting part of the movie was the locket that Eisenheim made for Sophie. Isn't that sad?
[poster courtesty of impawards.com]
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