Weakness at the heart of THIS Illusion

Rating: 3/10 (25 June 2007)

How two talented actors stumbled into this mess, how another got out in time (by the skin of her teeth), and how all was messily (and slyly) resolved in the last minute of the film. So Edward Norton made me feel uncomfortable... but not thanks to his magic skills, as I had eluded myself... Rather I wanted him to take the first plane out of this trashy melodrama and save his screen reputation. Instead he stuck with it, with his flimsy voice, shaky pseudo English (at times Austrian?) accent, and childish plot and direction. Weak. That is how he seemed to feel. And that's no good feeling for an actor in the middle of a film. Something like remembering you can't swim as well as you thought, as a storm whips up at sea. Giammati slipped out of this with only the shame of having been IN this mess. 'Sideways' and 'American Splendor' save him, and will remain his little jewels. Viewers who admire the setting (Prague) and romance can Czec, oops, check out Canone Inverso (Inverse Cannon) a late-nineties Italian Box Office hit which is just as ludicrous as this fare but at least came first. The Illusionist is a copy of this other film with a couple of magic tricks extra. Locations, shots and... even the LEAD ACTRESS are straight out of the Italian movie. We are led to wonder what ever eluded Mr.Burger (yes, the director's name)into thinking he could pull this trick off. Luckily MOST awful experiences have an UP side. The young illusionist's encounter with his first wizard (by the roadside) is actually quite compelling, AND Liv Tyler got out of doing this movie just in time... much to her favour. The Moral IS... Burgers are BAD for your digestion; that is, unlike you LOVE fast-food. (p.s. The best bit was in the End Titles where a relative of the director appears on the crew and, BELIEVE IT or NOT, she is called: Anita Burger!)