Dir: Neil Burger

Starring: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel

Seeing a talent like Edward Norton, charming gentlemen and Yale graduate, is usually a treat. Handsome, experienced and overall a bloody brilliant actor, Norton’s films are like that shiny jewel that glows in the midst of a hundred ordinary rocks. Primal Fear, American History X, and Fight Club are just some of the modern classics that allowed him to sit on the top end of the A-list.

With this in mind, seeing him in the advert of a film about a magician, the likes of which the world has never seen, that has the tagline ‘Nothing is what it seems’ would provoke a rather excited response. However, upon exiting the cinema, the filmgoer realises that the age-old fact that the best parts are in the trailer (a fact that so many people try to deny) is very true, and the denial of it has caused them to lose five quid, not to mention two of hours of time that could have been spent more constructively.

Director Neil Burger has done well to gather a group of prolific actors, including Paul Giamatti. However, he is clearly unaware of how to utilise his tools, and creates a shambles out of an idea that could have worked really well despite the weak plot.

The Queen’s English spoken by the characters is done so very well; they obviously had very good voice-coaches. However, the fact that they all speak English better than Tony Blair but the film is set in 19^th century Venice is rather puzzling, but your desire to find out why this is so will no doubt disappear after the first half hour, as will your strength to try and figure out the twist of the film. Added to this is the fact that when the end twist is finally presented, you really don’t care and are waiting for the credits to roll so that you can belt out of the cinema and not get caught in the rush of people who will be talking about how disappointed they are.

For a more authentic, gripping magician movie, see The Prestige, a film that keeps you on edge, one that will tantalise you, and on which will show that, in comparison to it, The Illusionist is mere child’s play.  

Related Topics

The Prestige Review

Discuss this movie now at the Pure Movies Forum!