Posted by
Emmett of the Unblinking Eye on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:08:45 PM
Since school starts tomorrow, I took part of the afternoon off to take Mrs. Unblinking to a matinee of "
The Illusionist". Originally, she isn't very anxious to see it; but when she found out that it featured
Rufus Sewell (in whatever part; it really doesn't matter to her), she deigned to accompany me.
And a fine afternoon we had, because "The Illusionist" is one of the smartest, best looking films in some time, with an
absolutely mesmerizing score by Philip Glass. The film stars
Edward Norton as a touring magician at the turn of the century who brings his intriguing show to Vienna (played remarkably well by Prague). There he reunites with his childhood sweetheart (
Jessica Biel), who is engaged to the abusive and tyrannical Crown Prince Leopold (the aforementioned Sewell), who is in turn protected by the slightly crooked Chief Inspector Uhl (
Paul Giamatti). Can they rekindle their love? And what can they do about that pesky Prince?
So what's to criticize? Well, there is an inherent problem with movies about magicians. To be truly appreciated, a magician has to be seen live, in person, and preferably up close. With the magic of CGI, it just loses something in the translation. And if you can't figure out what the twist is at the end by about a third of the way through the movie, you need some serious professional help. But the scenery is spectacular, the acting fine, the costumes
glorious, and the music divine. You could do a lot worse.