Good - but not earth shattering

Rating: 7/10 (5 September 2006)

This is the type of movie I would like to have the leisure to watch at home as a rental - or an evening movie presentation on TV. Maybe I'm spoiled by cerebral twists at the theatre, but this movie was promising to be tantalizing but ultimately failed to deliver the expected punch. The character (Sophie), played by Biels, was two-dimensional at best. I was left puzzled as to why Norton's character - the Illusionist - found her so unforgettable - I certainly did. One kind of hopes that someone with his supposed depth would be mystified by someone with some zip or zap - not sip and sap. Sophie is an aristrocrat who the young illusionist befriends as a youth - and we're led to believe that puppy love blossomed between the two children until the young cabinet maker's lad (who later grows up to be the Illusionist) is sent away and the friendship is broken due to social class systems. Time quickly progresses and we see Norton again as a very talented magician. What follows is a rather hard to swallow plot - even for an illusion. Maybe I've grown cynical and need more to go on than baby love between two characters that have yet to convince me that I am rooting for their togetherness.