The Illusionist stars Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti as two men pitted against each other in a battle of wits: Norton as mysterious stage magician Eisenheim, and Giamatti as Vienna's shrewd Chief Inspector Uhl, with Jessica Biel sharing the screen as Sophie von Teschen.When word of Eisenheim's astounding illusions reaches the powerful and pragmatic Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), the ruler attends one of the magician's shows in order to debunk Eisenheim during the performance. But when the Prince's intended, Sophie von Teschen, assists the magician onstage, Eisenheim and Sophie recognize each other from their childhoods—and a dormant love affair is rekindled. As the clandestine romance continues, Uhl is charged by Leopold to intensify his efforts to expose Eisenheim, even while the magician gains a devoted and vocal public following. With Uhl doggedly searching for the reasons and the man behind the trickery, Eisenheim prepares to execute his greatest illusion yet.
This movie is the one with Ed Norton and Paul Giamatti - NOT the one with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. That would be The Prestige (which will always be linked with The Illusionist because of how similar the stories were and the fact that they came out so close together), and no matter how much you watch of The Illusionist those two will not show up on screen. You'll have to wait a month or two to catch that one. To tell you the truth though, The Illusionist was a much better movie. I think that Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti are two of the most underappreciated actors in Hollywood. This movie keeps your interest throughout and ends in a way that will make you want to go back and watch the movie all over again afterwards.
This movie is definitely worth the rental price and I recommend that everyone check this one out.
