I Didn't See What Others Saw, But a Great Film Just the Same

Rating: 7/10 (25 March 2007)

A peasant boy grows up to become a great magician (Edward Norton). But his childhood love (Jessica Biel) is now betrothed to the crown prince (Rufus Sewell). Will the magician stand for this? Can any one man stand up against the royal family? Almost everyone I know loved this movie. Some were saying it was much better than "The Prestige", while others would point out the cinematography (which I must agree is very nice). I guess I didn't love it as much as many other people, but I freely accept it's a great film.
Jessica Biel was wonderful. Let me stress I don't expect much of her. Prior to this film, her best role was probably "Rules of Attraction", even though she was mostly just there to be a drunk college girl. Here she is much more and her acting is quite nuanced and refined. Almost the best of the movie.
The best, though, goes to Paul Giamatti, who seems to make everything he touches turn to gold. He couldn't save "Lady in the Water" (who could?) but he was no less awesome in it. And "Sideways"? Wow! But here, he does a very low-key acting where he doesn't have a lot of range, but seems to make the small range even more dramatic than a character with large range. Compare Rufus Sewell (the crown prince) who is an overlooked actor and has good range here. Giamatti out-acts him, even though he does considerably less.
Edward Norton, always great, seems less than his best here. It's no "Fight Club" or "American History X". My friend who says that this film is better than "The Prestige" cites Norton as being better than Christian Bale. Maybe on his best days, but Norton here is nothing compared to Bale. Further, why I preferred the "Prestige" is that it seemed more realistic and plausible to me, whereas this relies on very different magic (and is done with poor CGI). I prefer a film where I can feel I'm supposed to accept the premises.
In all fairness, the two films are very different (aside from the magician thing) and shouldn't be compared. The Illusionist is a beautifully crafted film, with all the scenes framed perfectly, lit perfectly and given a texture that cannot easily be found elsewhere. If you don't watch it for a movie (even though you should) watch it for a piece of art. Really worth your time.