When the film opens, Eisenheim
is on a bare wooden stage staring intently toward the audience, holding their
attention. They are silent, including a row of policemen at the back, until a
shimmering form on stage causes a woman to shout out, “It’s her!” Inspector Uhl then steps onto the stage to announce the
illusionist’s arrest, which throws the crowd into an uproar. Uhl is soon
instructed to put an end to this troublesome magician, the crown prince
suggesting he must have some information he can use against him, something from
his past. Uhl agrees, saying, “In fact,
we know all about his life.” And that is how the film transitions to the
past, to show how Eisenheim first encountered magic. What I like is that what
we see next isn’t quite believable, but Uhl (in voice over at this point)
acknowledges that the story is uncertain. “Who
knows what actually happened?” It’s interesting, because it leaves us
wondering how reliable the information we’ll receive will be. For, as Uhl says,
he has pieced together the story of Eisenheim’s life from all those who have
known him. So the story not only relies on memories of people, but on their
willingness to tell the truth to a policeman. It’s an intriguing set-up.
As a boy, the illusionist meets
the young Duchess Sophie Von Teschen, who is scolded for taking an interest in
a peasant. She secretly keeps seeing him, in spite of being forbidden from
doing so. And one evening she runs to him. “Make
us disappear,” she urges him, as we hear the men searching for her getting
closer. What is nice here is we see him concentrating, just as we saw Edward
Norton concentrating in the opening shots. But the men come and separate them.
The story then moves forward fifteen years to the illusionist having taken the
name Eisenheim and gained some popularity with the people. He is performing for
an audience, an audience that includes Inspector Uhl, who applauds him
enthusiastically. Uhl fancies himself an amateur magician himself, and shows a
genuine interest in how the illusions are performed. And in an official
capacity, he has to inspect the theatre because the crown prince is planning on
attending the next performance, and takes some joy at looking over the props.
When Eisenheim seeks a
volunteer from the audience, the prince offers his date, the duchess. When she
ascends the stage, Eisnheim asks her, “Do
you know me?” and then “You’re quite
certain that we’ve never met before?” That is such a great moment, because
of course those questions are asked routinely at magic shows to assure the audience that a volunteer
is not in on the act, but here he is also truly asking the questions, sensing
her familiarity. Such a good touch. And I love the moment of recognition from
Sophie a little later. She soon arranges to meet him secretly, as she knows she
is followed everywhere. So there is a love story at the heart of this film.
After the prince is embarrassed by Eisenheim at a command performance, he
orders Uhl to shut him down. It’s interesting, because of course I was assuming
that the prince’s anger toward the illusionist would be related to his love for
Sophie. But it’s more to do with the prince’s love for himself, and his
arrogance. Interestingly, it is after that scene that Eisenheim and Sophie
begin their physical relationship.
While the prince plans a
dangerous political move, Eisenheim and Sophie put their own lives in danger to
be together. This is a love story, but also a tale of intrigue and mystery. Yet
one of my favorite scenes is that between Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti when
Uhl questions Eisenheim about his relationship with the duchess. It’s a simple
scene, but so effective because of the actors involved. Here is a chance to see
two incredibly talented actors delivering excellent performances. In addition,
Rufus Sewell gives an excellent and at times scary performance as the prince. The Illusionist is an enjoyable and
engaging film, in large part because of these performances.
Special Features
The Blu-ray contains a
commentary track by screenwriter and director Neil Burger, who talks about the
short story and the process of adapting it for the film. Interestingly, Sophie
is not a character in the short story. The actor who played the young Sophie
had her first kiss on screen, which must have been so weird for her. It’s cool that Edward
Norton learned to do his own sleight of hand for this film. It’s also cool that
the production took the trouble of portraying the tricks the way they would
have been done at that time (admittedly with a bit of CGI enhancement), and
Neil Burger kind of explains each of the illusions. I can’t believe that horrid
hallway that Paul Giamatti walks down is a real place, that the set dressers
didn’t add any of those animal heads.
The disc also includes a short
making-of featurette, which includes interviews with cast members Edward
Norton, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell and Paul Giamatti. Edward Norton talks about
Ricky Jay advising him on the magic. There is also a separate interview with
Jessica Biel, though some of it is included in the making-of featurette. The
film’s trailer is also included.
The Illusionist was directed by Neil Burger, and was released on
Blu-ray on June 25, 2019 through MVD Marquee Collection.
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