The Illusionist

I put off watching this for a long time for a simple if silly reason: 2006 had two dark drama movies about late 19th century magicians. I'd already seen The Prestige. I didn't have much hope this would be as good. Even with the cast (minus one person), it looked like the pale copy. I'm happy to say I was wrong and that it stands on its own ... but I also have to admit I was right and I do find it inferior to The Prestige, if only by a little. The Illusionist focuses on a magician who becomes embroiled in a triangle of sorts with the Imperial Prince of Austria-Hungary and his bride-to-be, who just so happens to be a childhood friend. That already sets it apart; there isn't the competition aspect between two equals. The Imperial Prince sets a trusted police inspector, played by Paul Giamatti (one of my favorite actors), to find a way to break Eisenheim (played by Edward Norton). Giamatti's Inspector Uhl is somewhat reluctant, as he likes magic and respects Eisenheim in a way, which gives their relationship a different dynamic. It isn't Evil Authority Figure versus The Hero ... but it also does put some separation between the Prince and Eisenheim, which means the Prince gets the short shrift in terms of character development. We're mostly told he's evil. The only evil thing we ever see him do is strike his bride-to-be, Sophie; everything else is exposition and him being kind of an egotistical douche. The role is acted well, but the role itself just doesn't have much meat on the bone. The biggest weakness in the acting department, though, is Jessica Biel as Sophie. She's not good as an actor, she looks out of place in the period, and she has zero chemistry with Norton. This movie needed a strong, elegant woman with a lot of fire and passion. Biel plays it mostly quiet, reserved, and passionless. I never believed her as Sophie. I really enjoyed the direction. All sorts of tricks were used of the time to give it an old-world feel, like film wipes, amber lighting, and darkness around the edges of the frame. It feels sometimes like a turn-of-the-century film strip like A Trip To The Moon instead of a movie made in 2006, but in a good way. There's some moments of CGI that haven't aged well, but it's minimally used. And I love, love, love how the movie tells you Eisenheim's magic is all stage trickery at the end, but doesn't fully break down the how. It respects both magicians and the audience that way. But one aspect I'm not so fond of is the ending, and this is probably my biggest peeve. If you're a savvy movie goer, you'll see where this is likely going. The problem is, it presents the ending as a twist, but it is so obvious, and frankly so cliche, it would've been more of a twist to NOT have a twist and let the ending be ambiguous and dark. The twist ending feels like a let down, because it ties up everything in the movie in a neat bow, but it doesn't feel earned. Had it not sold out for the Hollywood ending, this would top The Prestige, even with Biel being something of an anchor. As it stands, that ending is too anti-climactic to give it the nod. Still a good watch, but it could be so much better.