For 110 minutes, you will be guessing who, where, and what just happened as the plot is never as it seems, but an illusion.

Rating: Null/10 (2 August 2013)

Neil Burger's brilliance shines again in his 2006 production of The Illusionist. Starring the gifted Edward Norton, as Eisenheim, the skillful and talented magician who keeps the plot moving and always has you wondering how did he do that? The gorgeous Jessica Biel plays the part of Sophie, the beautiful and sumptuous Duchess Von Teschen. When volunteered to help Eisenheim perform a trick by her fiancé, Sophie and Eisenheim's are reunited after not seeing each other for fifteen years due to social status and class differences. This reunion must be fate because once they see each other it's not an illusion, its love. As Eisenheim and Sophie rekindle their long lost lustful feelings for one another, they know that the Crown Prince, Sophie's fiancé, will not let her go without a fight. After Eisenheim humiliates the Crown Prince at a show, he is arrested and stowed in the local jail. It is when Sophie confronts the Prince in the barn that the plot thickens.
Confusion and illusion take full effect as you try to guess who the real villain is. Is it the Crown Prince, whose poor reputation of unkind womanly acts has been masked for years by his wealth and status? Or is the mystery, mind puzzling, and handsome magician? Neil Burger keeps you guessing up to the last second. Using special techniques throughout the movie, Mr. Neil Burger, as in his other acclaimed films Crash and Sideways, has mastered the art of creating a fantasy. The use of time appropriate candle lighting during Eisenheim's theater performances creates a dark and eerie feeling. You want to close your eyes but can't for fear that you might miss something.
As Eisenheim's audiences are dressed in dark clothing and have radiopaque skin, this stark color contrast makes you feel as thou you are in a morgue, which adds to the overall eerie feeling that is present throughout the film. This feeling is part of Eisenheim's ever enchanted life of as a magician, as people disappear, knives hide in forbidden places, and people appear to be immortal, don't be fooled. For 110 minutes, you will be guessing who, where, and what just happened as the plot is never as it seems, but an illusion. This film has it all; from profound jaw dropping magic, a forbidden love affair, crime, and drama. So be prepared for a ride that is full speed and full of sharp turns or so they appear to be.