Jon Monsarrat review: nice mystery, but lacking stage magic!

Rating: 6/10 (19 August 2006)

The Illusionist is a well-crafted, well-acted romantic drama, that may teach you a little about history. There are some great plot twists, and even though I saw the end coming it was still satisfying. After a stuttering start (too much narration, which is "tell", and they always say "show, don't tell", right?) the film is very engaging. As usual Edward Norton is fantastic. He is spooky and mysterious, but not too aloof for you to empathize with the Illusionist. He'll win an Oscar one day for sure.
I would gladly have given the film an 8 out of 10, but I am settling for 6 for the following reason: there's no prestidigitation in the film. Almost every effect is done with computer graphics, which left me so disappointed. If only they'd started the movie saying something like "all illusions in this film were recorded without the use of camera tricks or graphics of any kind," they would not have had to modify the script and it would have had such a higher impact.
Instead, I have to confess that I found myself sitting there thinking, sarcastically, wow, computer graphics, like I've never seen that before. Some actual sleight of hand would have impressed me. I think the cruel fact though is that circa 1890 the true-to-life craftsmanship and technology of that era would simply not have supported illusions that would compete with our 21st century sensibilities. So perhaps they considered that route and discarded it.
Finally, I have to confess that I don't understand the success of Paul Giamatti. I guess there must be a lot of people out there who like him, but I find that he's too much of a big huggy bear to play a tough guy like his supporting role in this film.
Who should see this movie:
-- Mystery film lovers, skip it unless you're big into romance. Guys, this is a safe film to let your girlfriend drag you to. It's not syrupy.
-- Amateur magicians, you will be disappointed to find no sleight of hand in the film, although I've heard that Ricky Jay was somehow involved.
-- Megalomaniac princes with false-looking mustaches I'll give The Illusionist a near-miss 6 out of 10.