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Rating: 9/10 (12 September 2010)

In 19th century Vienna, cabinet maker's son Edward becomes friends with young aristocrat Sophie, but they are separated due to the class difference. Years later they meet as adults when Edward is a stage illusionist and Sophie is on the point of becoming engaged to deeply unpleasant Crown Prince Leopold. They are in love, but can they ever be together? The Illusionist succeeds on nearly every level. The story is solid, and well told through the police Inspector who is involved at every stage, the cast are uniformly excellent, and the whole thing is handsomely mounted - this is a beautiful looking film.
I have one reservation (a mild one in the context of the film overall) but it involves spoilering the film, so look away now. Unlike the contemporaneous The Prestige, the magic in this film is supposedly all illusion. I would therefore have liked to know how Edward achieved the illusion of the small boy walking round the theatre apparently exchanging communicative glances with patrons - I can't think how that could be done with current technology!