Edward Norton and Jessica Biel star in Yari Film Group’s The Illusionist, © 2006.

There’s something about being fooled in a magic trick that just makes me feel absolutely stupid. Then again, it is a magician’s job to trick you into believing and when the answer is finally revealed, you are baffled. Chris Angel is one of the greatest illusionists I have ever witnessed and his tricks seem to be so impossible, I am surprised every time I view the outcome of one of his tricks. The illusionist in the this film is far more skilled than any of magician I’ve experienced.

The story begins in the early 1900’s of Vienna, Austria, where the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) is questioning the presence and history of a mysterious local illusionist, Eisenheim (Edward Norton), who has taken the city by storm with his unbelievable tricks. He turns to the Chief Inspector of Police, Uhl (Paul Giamatti) for guidance, especially since Leopold believes the magician may have a secretive or past relationship with his girlfriend, Sophie (Jessica Biel).

We soon learn that Eisenheim and Sophie were childhood sweethearts, who attempted to meet secretly and eventually run away together, but their families kept them a part due to their separation of social class (Romeo and Juliet, anyone?). Though this possibility is in the back of Leopold and Uhl’s minds, they are more bent on uncovering the secrets of his amazing illusions. However, when Sophie is found dead, fingers point to both Eisenheim and Leopold. It is believed that he only intended to marry into Sophie’s family for the money and power they possessed. And so the tricks begin.

I am very surprised at the uproar of magician/illusionist films making their way and exhibiting themselves to the unsuspecting public. A few weeks ago, we had Scoop, with Woody Allen, Scarlett Johansson and the Tarot Card Killer, this week we have Edward Norton, Paul Giamatii, and Jessica Biel in The Illusionist, and in mid-October, we can expect The Prestige, about a rivalry between two magicians, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. I have also read that in a few years that Tom Hanks is set to do a magician musical about a father and son business. Perhaps in this world where everything negative is not what it seems, we need something similar, but a bit more positive.

The performances in the film were beyond what I expected. Edward Norton (American History X, remember?), brings a fairly mysterious character to each scene. The first half of the movie, he appears eerie, but also kind and well-mooded and mannered. After Biel’s character dies, however, he appears to be the true master of dark arts he is hyped to be after he begins to make contact with the dead and hires Asian monks to assist him in running his own local theatre. Yet, with his character, something always to appear to be bothering him, like a past guilt or an old flame that is burning him inside.

Rufus Sewell is does not put on a performance as good as Edward Norton, but he is still one to remember in this film. His character is quite nasty, and this is noticeable from any standpoint in the film. As preying as he seems, the other happenings in the film seem to make him look more like a bad-guy, even though he appears not to have a clue about some of the deeds he engages in.

Paul Giamatti, already in his fifth film of 2006, I have not yet gotten tired of watching this man of screen. His character is continuously investigating the tricks and trials of Norton’s character. He wears a very long shaggy beard, and somewhat mumbles when he is speaking, reminding me somewhat of Jeff Daniel’s character in Gettysburg.

Jessica Biel’s acting is the most surprising of everyone on screen. I’ve only seen in her a few previous works, such as Stealth and found her working as somewhat mediocre. In The Illusionist, however, she exhibits the best acting I’ve ever seen from her, and is more than what I expected what could possibly be her best.

Director Neil Burger, as well as directing, writes the screenplay. The tricks and thought provoking scenes of magic are well mooded and well put-together. Each one of these gives the feeling of dark arts and possibly demons. Burger also knows exactly how to keep the audience guessing, is he a magician using tricks and illusions, or is a real wizard awe-ing people all over the world. There are also many instances in the film where we’re not even sure of who the killer of Sophie may be. Was it Eisenheim or Leopold, and is she really even dead? Though the ending is somewhat… a little predictable, it is fascinating to watch it unfold and how things may have actually happened and how the audience most likely misunderstood them. The Illusionist is not a trick in Hollywood filmmaking, but a real, piece of art.

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence.

Running time 110 minutes.