Months after director Neil Burger's moody period piece "The Illusionist" [0] – opening this weekend at Pacific Place 11 and the Neptune – bowed at the Seattle International Film Festival [1], I find that I'm still conflicted about it and I'm having a tough time nailing down why. It has its share of obvious flaws: The pace is flat at times, the American actors can't quite nail their generic European accents, and most unfortunately, the luminous Jessica Biel (who attended the SIFF premier with Burger) is woefully miscast as a Hapsburg [2] royal. She can't help looking like she's A) ready for a costume fetish photo spread in FHM, or B) ready to go all Buffy on somebody's butt. Furthermore, the film has an odd "back lot" feel one would expect of a Universal horror [3] flick, even though it was shot on location in Prague. I almost expected Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman to turn up.
So why do I like the film so much?
In 1900 Vienna, the illusionist Eisenheim (Ed Norton) seemingly defies the laws of nature right before the eyes of astounded audiences and to the fascination of Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti), himself an amateur magician. Eisenheim's aristocratic childhood sweetie, Sophie (Biel) is betrothed to the skeptical and sadistic heir to the throne, Crown Prince Leophold (Rufus Sewell), who intends to use her as a pawn in a plot to overthrow his father. As the sparks once again fly between Eisenheim and Sophie, the Prince charges Uhl to expose the magician as a fraud. But the magician's act evolves into an occult spectacle that sparks a resurgent spiritualist [4] phenomenon ... and the game, as they say, is afoot. There's more to the story, but I'd only spoil the surprise(s).
Burger does a nice job of juggling "The Illusionist's" many elements. The director lays all the elements out in front of you – romance, mystery, corruption, political intrigue and murder – and like his master magician, Burger subtly transforms the meanings of those elements through plot twists and misdirection.
As for the magic itself, it's so real you'll swear it's fake. To lend "realism" to the proceedings, Burger brought in master magician Ricky Jay [5], a scholar on the illusions of the period and the Spiritualist movement. Working with Jay - himself a veteran actor – Norton became an expert at sleight of hand. Some of the more incredible stage illusions involve no camera trickery or digital effects. Norton simply performs them. The astonished expressions on the faces of Norton's co-stars and the film's extras are genuine. I noticed a few similar expressions at the SIFF screening back in May.
The film reappears at an opportune time - it has a good chance of conjuring an audience that's weary of reptile-infested e-savers and lowbrow comedies. It's a lot like a magic act I once saw in Vegas - while most of it was pretty run-of-the-mill, there were some tricks so remarkable that I'm still mystified by them, years later. "The Illusionist" is far from perfect, but the film succeeds in more ways than it fails. In the end, it works as a fable steeped in our attraction to the intangible, darker parts of this and other worlds. That's what sticks with you after the lights go up.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
