Sleight of Film

Rating: 6/10 (8 January 2007)

The unique mileage Edward Norton and company get out of this period piece mystery does have it's merits. Sequences in which the enigmatic magician conjures his intriguing imagery inside many of the murky, though classy stage setups remain the overriding soul of this movie despite any romantic developments or late act revelations. The heavily accentuated ambiance prevalent in those scenes does wonders to elevate the interesting but somehow gimmicky character study that at least the first half of this movie purports to be, replacing Norton's questionable interpretation of the work with some authentic scenes that bristle with the kind of on-screen magic this illusionist was trying to represent to his audience. In this aspect writer and director Neil Burger has succeeded in giving viewers some of the most original entertainment of the year. Unfortunately, the majority of the remaining plot to divulge does not necessarily complement the highlights, and often pales in comparison to the original set of aesthetic values placed on the actual stage performance of The Illusionist. While Burger does weave a passionate love story around the magic, one can't help but think all the romance, action, and conflict surrounding this script feels sort of tacked on to the one trick pony that it really is. Acting is uniformly decent, with even the likes of Jessica Biel wearing her role somewhat convincingly, although it did seem like Norton was a bit lost with how to interpret this different character, too many times relying on a vacant blandness that has all but consumed the latter half of his acting career. Undervalued Rufus Sewell added that much needed edge, while the always good Paul Giamatti surely impresses with his refined technique, but needs to revert more to doing what he does best, playing the types of roles that got him big in the first place, ala Sideways, and not trying to be so well rounded in his movie choices- an admirable goal for any actor, but in his case a discredit to what he does best. Overall this is a worthy film to see, although more for conceptual originality then for any actual originality to be found in the script.