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This movie made the mistake of hitting theatres in the same month as The Prestige. Luckily, they were smart enough to release the DVD well before.

The Illusionist is a story about long-lasting love and, well, illusion. Eisenheim (played by Ed Norton) is an amazingly talented magician who, while young, is separated from his true love in order to travel and develop his craft. Later in life his performance catches the eye of the chief inspector, a magic enthusiast himself, who in turn recommends his show to the always skeptical Crown Prince. At that show, the Prince volunteers his fiancé to ensure none of the volunteers of the show are planted. Little does he know that he is reuniting his soon-to-be wife with her long-lost love. From there the story takes twists and turns as the two lovers try to find a way to be together, as they feel they should have been from the start.

I popped this film in expecting to see a two-hour, nineteenth century, magic show and instead I got a timeless love story. All of the cool illusions and nifty magic tricks take a back seat to the never-ending passion between a man and a woman, an entertainer and a duchess. The performance of Paul Giamatti as Chief Inspector Uhl was my saving grace from keeping me from getting all mushy and teary-eyed. Giamatti should be arrested for the scenes he steals in this one. Just as he did with Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man, he takes any star power Norton has and makes him look like just another extra. Even though the movie doesn’t revolve around his character, I pretended it did. In the end, The Illusionist is no Prestige but it is worth the rent.

from screenhead