Magical gem

Rating: 9/10 (23 November 2007)

It is not easy to bring magic into a movie. It takes more than imagination, more than atmosphere, more than excellent acting performances. Maybe it takes all of them combined, plus a little something that has to do with the plot. And the "illusionist" has all of the above. It is a film worthy of its title and reputation, with Norton giving -once more- a great performance, even though none of the other actors is any less. Romance, mystery, magic, all at the exact right proportion, providing a unique power. It is, after all, a matter of how much a director can leave you with this feeling of "It was such a great journey" that matters. That he has taken you somewhere you really found worthy being at. It is in any case important to comment on Norton' s contribution to this outstanding result. Playing a man with the ability of deception is not an easy task. It might be relatively easy to do it in front of a live audience, but when on screen, the audience needs quite more to follow an illusionist. And Norton manages to have this look of "I can do anything", which seems to come from a deep knowledge and acceptance of this fact. He does not give the sense of a performer, but of someone able to twist the natural world around. It is, no doubt, his physical characteristics, as well as his amazing ability to dive into each characters deeper self. I would assume the writer of the story was exceptionally lucky and blessed in this movie, and his story did not lose its strength, as so many stories have in movies unable to provide the atmosphere or character strength the writer had in mind.