Absorbing, beautiful, and well acted

Rating: 9/10 (3 September 2006)

That anyone could give this movie a 1 or a 2 rating defies common sense. There was excellent acting in this movie. The production values were also excellent. The dialogu was perfectly adequate...not so bad it detracted from my enjoyment of the film, but not so great that I gave it more than the usual notice. I felt transported into another time and place, and though the ending can be determined well into the film, I was never sure if I was right. And if I was right, I wasn't sure how it could be accomplished.
I did notice what I considered to be a plot hole. The girl that played the young Sophie had some crooked teeth (refreshing in today's cookie cutter world) and the grown Sophie did not. I wasn't aware they had orthodontia in Victorian Vienna. Modern dentistry of our time, however can make false teeth to match just about any description. It's a petty thing. Another equally petty thing...what was with all the bad dye jobs on everybody's beard. You could see the blonde roots and other patches of blonde hair on the face of several characters. Was that common practice in Victorian days? What was that about? Still, The Illusionist is a very satisfying film. People who trash it must have gotten some bad popcorn.