MOVIE REVIEWS
The Illusionist
Eric Yang
Modern magicians such as the renowned David Copperfield use their skills not only to thrill and dazzle us, but also to tickle our collective imaginations. It’s not just what the illusion is, but what it does. Writer and director Neil Burger’s The Illusionist (adapted from the novel by Steven Millhauser), like a great magician, taps into our deep-seated childlike fascination with the unknown.
The enchanter here is Edward Eisenheim, (played by a mesmerizing Ed Norton), an infamous illusionist in Vienna who is reunited, during a public performance, with his long lost love, Sophie (Jessica Biel). When Eisenheim learns that Sophie is to marry the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), he devises a plan to leave the city with her. Several surprising developments occur thereafter, which I will decline to reveal, for doing so would be akin to revealing the secrets of a magician’s tricks; you must experience it for yourself.
Eisenheim conjures up illusions that are magnificently inexplicable. When he showcases his ability to summon the dead, he becomes somewhat of a spiritual mascot, and Burger, with a taut and beguiling screenplay, makes us believe in Eisenheim as much as the people of Vienna do. Norton gives the magician an unworldly force, a presence that’s simultaneously confident, alluring and mysterious.
If The Illusionist exhibits any noticeable flaws, it’s the casting of Jessica Biel, who performs with an air of practiced gracefulness that made me wince. The role deserves someone who is naturally more elegant and reposeful. But this is largely a minor quibble; the film’s effortless storytelling allows us to overlook its imperfections.
We rarely ever get a glimpse inside Eisenheim’s grim, seemingly impenetrable psyche - most of the story is told through the eyes of Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) - but this narrative choice makes the magic all the more potent. Burger never lets us get ahead of the story. The real mystery isn’t why Eisenheim does magic, but how.
The Illusionist is filled with an irresistible romantic spirit. It reminds us of a time when simply believing in magic, or any sort of higher power, was enough to justify its existence. Nowadays it is difficult to justify anything unless one is able to Google it.
The director reminds us, too, that magic still exists in the movies, and that movies are magic. Motion pictures are, in essence, grand illusions. And it’s the one thing David Copperfield doesn’t do.
