“Hollywood seems to always have a thing for competing movies. Right now it’s the two Snow Whites. Recent memory also had the two Truman Capote films. Coming up there’s two about Steve Jobs. Back in 2006, it was the two “”magic”” films. If you’re scratching your head at that statement, it’s prolly because The Illusionist turned out to be greatly overshadowed by it’s perceived competitor, The Prestige. Oh yes, now you know what I’m talking about. The Prestige won out because it was a bit flashier, had bigger names, had a more intense story, and oh yeah the whole Christopher Nolan factor. I’m not gonna try and convince you that The Illusionist was better. Heavens no, I’m on Team Prestige all the way. But I do want to stand up for this movie and keep it from the obscure oblivion it has been relegated to.
The Illusionist isnt without its flaws. Too many of his illusions involve CGI. I never quite bought the chemistry between Edward Norton’s Eisenheim and Jessica Biel’s Sophie. The pace is a little slow. But it’s still a beautiful movie, if too sappy for my taste. Edward Norton delivers another fantastic yet understated performance. We get a full performance with the accent we only heard bits of in Kingdom of Heaven. And like Down in the Valley, we have someone who is perfectly sweet on the outside, but hiding a darkness inside. If I weren’t falling asleep from staying up to watch my Spurs play last night (we will not discuss how THAT turned out) I may be able to write more on the subject.”