A blaring disappointment.

Rating: 5/10 (10 January 2007)

I was very much looking forward to seeing The Illusionist when it came out on DVD, as I missed its run in theatres, and with grave regret I have to say that I did not like this movie. I wanted so badly to love it, but as it turns out the ending made it impossible for me to do so.
Edward Norton, in typically great form, plays Eisenheim the Illusionist, Jessica Biel plays The Duchess, Eisenhiem's love interest and fiancé to the power hungry Crown Prince(Rufus Sewell), and Paul Giamatti plays the Chief Inspector of Vienna who is in charge of trying to solve the mysteries behind the eye popping feats of Eisenheim. Every actor involved does a splendid job. The story is a love story, with betrayal and mystery, with all sorts of magical sights and sounds. It touches on the mystical/spiritual side of Eisenheim, but fails miserably at following it up with any sort of substance.
The most interesting part of the film, which I bought into, hook, line and sinker right from the get go, was the fact that magic seemed possible. It seemed real. It rooted itself in the supernatural, and then failed to grow. It planted the seed of the magical orange tree in your mind and then forgot to water it.
The movie forgot that it was a work of fiction, and would not allow itself to be anything but reality. It took no risks, it took no chances, it did nothing fantastical and amazing other than showing how fantastic of a let down an incredibly masterful and atmospheric movie can be when the director wimps out and decides he has to make everything explainable and real in the end. All of the hard work and obvious skill that went into making this film into a mysterious and wondrous love story was wasted by the most incredibly copped out ending I have seen in years.