A decent magic-based film that suffers from inevitable comparison to "The Prestige"

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2008)

"The Illusionist" is an interesting period piece set in turn-of-the-century Vienna. It centers around a magician (Edward Norton) who becomes enmeshed in political intrigue when his highborn lover (Jessica Biel) becomes engaged to the Crown Prince (Rufus Sewell).
I have long been a fan of Norton's but for some reason he seemed slightly out of place here. Strangely, Paul Giamatti, whom I expected might seem out of place was in fact ideally suited to his role. Nevertheless, Norton does deliver a skillful performance, as do the other principle actors, namely Giamatti, Biel & Sewell.
The script grabbed my attention with a mix of political intrigue, phantasmagoria and romantic pursuit. However, I did get the feeling that the story was stretched just a little too thin in the long run, which is not so surprising considering that the source material is only of short story length. It is also worth noting that the story is noticeably slight in comparison to the similarly-themed film "The Prestige".
The direction and score are ably handled but not especially noteworthy. The effects surrounding the various magic tricks are well done if not exactly breathtaking. More importantly they are not overemphasized to the point of detracting from the story.
In the end, I found the film enjoyable as a whole. Not perfect but certainly magical enough to make for a memorable viewing experience.