Enjoyable 19th-Century Mystery-Fantasy About the Power of Illusion

Rating: 9/10 (22 October 2016)

In the wake of the Enlightenment of the late 17th and 18th centuries, the 19th century saw a rise in interest in the occult, mysticism and magic. Séance ceremonies, fortune-telling, occult literature, and magic acts became widespread in popularity, and much of this interest in matters supernatural and the inexplicable have survived into the 21st century. However, from circa 1845 until the death of Houdini in 1926, magic and illusion were some of the most popular theatrical acts in Europe and America. (Previously performing magicians were often among traveling shows, and today only a handful of magic performers have national and international fame.) "The Illusionist", starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Biel, is a throw-back to the 19th century's obsession with mysticism and magic.
Edward Norton, in a compelling atypical performance, plays Eduard Abramovich, an Austrian provincial, who has made a name for himself as Eisenheim the Illusionist. The film begins in 1889 with the last of a series of controversial theatrical illusions in which apparitions of dead people appear on stage at Eisenbeim's bidding and speak to the audience. Chief Inspector Walter Uhl (Giamatti) stops the performance and arrests the illusionist on the grounds of disturbing the peace. He was sent to arrest both Eisenheim and the performances by Crown Prince Leopold of Austria (Rufus Sewell). Giamatti then meets with Prince Leopold later the same evening and recounts the story of Eduard Abramovich and his rise from lowly peasant to magic superstar who has a following similar to Harry Houdini.
Most of the film is a flash-back from a young Abramovich meeting an elderly magician and then befriending a girl betrothed to the crown prince, Duchess Sophie von Teschen. The two are caught spending time together, and are separated not only because of class but because the duchess is already promised to the crown prince. Fast-forward 15 years, and Abramovich, now known as Eisenheim, is wowing audiences with incredible tricks. The crown prince and duchess, intrigued with rumors about the magician, attend one of his performances, and the duchess is selected to participate in one of the spectacles.
Intrigued, the crown prince invites the magician for a private performance. Then Eisenheim inadvertently humiliates the crown prince in a trick involving the prince's sword, and the love between the duchess and the performer is rekindled. Sensing the magician is not only challenging his political power in the eyes of his subjects but may have designs on his fiancé, the crown prince orders the arrest of Eisenheim. His lust for power and control ends in an unexpected fatality.
This is just a really entertaining movie, somewhat similar to fantasies in the earliest days of Hollywood entertainment. Transitions between scenes sometimes use the old-style kaleidoscopic/tunnel wipes often associated with silent movies. Certainly, Norton's character is the center of attention, but equally good are the supporting characters played by Giamatti, Biel, and Sewell. Giamatti does a fine job of straddling between the inspector of Vienna pledged to uphold the law while doing the bidding of the power-hungry crown prince. Biel is convincing as the duchess not quite enamored with the power of Austrian royalty. I also thought Sewell's performance was superb as the crown prince who seems at first very sure of his existing political power but then finds himself gradually losing its grip. A nice twist at the end makes for a very satisfying cinematic experience. Maybe not quite "The Prestige", one of the best films on a similar subject, "The Illusionist" still uphold very well on its own.