The Illusionist

Early in his freshman film -- the faux documentary Interview with the Assassin -- director Neil Burger introduces us to a loon claiming to be the second gunman on the grassy knoll and then teases us with clues so we can draw our own conclusions. As his sophomore effort opens, Burger similarly indicates that we should be questioning the yarn that's about to be spun.

A narrator tells us that tales are often exaggerated and then weaves one about a teenage boy meeting a nomadic magician who makes a tree, and then himself, disappear before the boy's eyes. That boy is neophyte illusionist Edward Ambramovitz, the son of a cabinet-maker, who falls in love with young Duchess Sophie von Teschen, only to be torn away from her by disapproving parents after being unable to fulfill her wish that he make her disappear. Instead, it's Edward who disappears, only to return under his nom de plume, Eisenheim, after fifteen years of learning the dark arts in Russia and the Orient.

Upon returning, Eisenheim learns that Sophie is to marry the vain and power hungry Crown Prince Leopold and must see if he can now do as she wished. Leopold is initially intrigued by the magic man, but can't take it when he begins capturing the fancy of his charges (and perhaps Sophie) and dispatches his inspector -- and our narrator -- to shut him down. What follows is a battle of wills between Sophie's suitors with Inspector Uhl trying to piece together the remains of their crossfire.

As Inspector Uhl, a man more curious about the conjurer's secrets then completing the Crown Prince's command, Paul Giamatti owns the film. Edward Norton has said that he wanted costume designer Ngila Dickson (The Lord of The Rings) to base the look of his Eisenheim off of the Fantastic Four's Dr. Doom and he seems to have taken his acting cues from the villain as well, creating a transfixing obsessiveness that aptly counters Rufus Sewell's near literal moustache-twirling malevolence as Leopold. The only weak link is the wooden Jessica Biel as Sophie, who seems too young and flippant to be Eisenheim's muse.

Burger and Dick Pope (Mike Leigh's regular DP) lend the proceedings a silent film feel by filling it with iris outs, dimming the edges of the frame, and manipulating the film so that it approximates early twentieth century autochrome photographs run through a hand-cranked camera. What results are faded green and gold tinted images that flicker and almost appear unstable.

The screenplay is adapted from a short story by Steven Millhauser and it's mostly compelling, yet occasionally meanders as Burger attempts to stretch it into a serious version of The Princess Bride. Many have called the film's Usual Suspects-esque ending too predictable, but I would argue that the "twist" is 1) supposed to be telegraphed, 2) merely Uhl's conclusion, which we are supposed to question, and 3) a sleight-of-hand misdirection from the film's true mysteries.

The flm is presented in a gorgeous, 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1. In his marvelous commentary track, Burger documents his exhaustive efforts to achieve historical accuracy and notes how master magician Ricky Jay meticulously taught Norton how to perform the film's reality-based magic tricks and carry himself on stage. Conversely, the other two features -- a brief making-of featurette and an even briefer interview with Jessica Biel -- are both worthless. -- Colin Miller