Full of intrigue and very engaging, but lacks the focus needed to be a truly great film

Rating: 7/10 (3 September 2006)

It only seemed a matter of time before the genre of magic, specifically in an era outside of our own, was seized by Hollywood hands with "The Illusionist" and soon "Batman Begins" director Christopher Nolan's upcoming "The Prestige." With CGI to make magic seem even more eerily believable, what audience doesn't love magic? "Illiusionist" takes advantage of this fact, mesmerizing the audience and intriguing them with the thought that the illusions might actually be possible. The problem is that the film sometimes lets this get in the way with the real human element of the film, the love story, which is supposed to be the most important part.
Edward Norton's character Eisenheim the Illusionist is merely a talented magician who after many years encounters his childhood sweetheart, Sophie (Jessica Biel), a girl of the upper class with which Eisenhiem is unfortunately not affiliated. The problem is that Sophie is nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Vienna (Rufus Sewell). The Crown Prince's interest in magic reunites the two, who fall back in love. When Eisenheim sacrifices some of the prince's dignity for the sake of his magic, the prince requests that Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) do what he must to bring Eisenheim down. The two lovers then find themselves in a situation bound to tear them apart.
Love, therefore, becomes the motivation for nearly all Norton's actions, but we see the plot instead being driven by the film's other conflicts, namely Giamatti's character's internal conflict between his allegiance to the prince and the truth. He seems to take over the protagonists role at a point during the film. We also get to see very little of the romance that drives the film aside from a couple of scenes that this motivation gets blurred.
While these other elements that distract are entertaining and meaningful, the story's ability to grab the viewer's heartstrings is muffled. It's all very interesting from the illusions themselves to the mystery at hand, but the extra step needed for the film to flourish is a true grasp of the love story. You'll be intrigued and entertained, which is sometimes all you need, but the film cheats itself out of the opportunity to be a real sleeper.