The Illusionist (2006)
Directed by Neil Burger
With his eye on a lovely aristocrat, a gifted illusionist named Eisenheim uses his powers to win her away from her betrothed, a crown prince. But Eisenheim's scheme creates tumult within the monarchy and ignites the suspicion of a dogged inspector.
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In this way, "The Illusionist" is very much reminiscent of a forgotten 1932 picture called "Arsene Lupin," starring John Barrymore as a master art thief and his brother Lionel Barrymore as the detective determined to put him behind bars.
Like " F for Fake ," the delightful meditation on art and deception by Orson Welles , "The Illusionist" places the very film you're watching at the center of the illusion.
Cinema to Orson Welles was an art found between magic and trickery; Burger's sumptuously hollow arabesque cannot approach the coruscating gags of Welles' F for Fake, but it expands the filmmaker's obsession with vision, interpretation and deception, flaunted in Interview with the Assassin.
The time period and general mood of this mystery might remind one a bit of the Hughes Brothers' take on Alan Moore's "From Hell" or Roman Polanski's "Oliver Twist," but Burger's solid adaptation does a much better job with the story and its intriguing characters.
What follows is by turns a murder mystery, a ghost story, a political melodrama and a “gotcha” movie that in its quiet way rivals “The Sting.”
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Lastly, for a movie set in turn-of-the-century illusion, too much of Eisenheim’s act seems to rely upon twenty-first century computer animation; to paraphrase the Devil from The Exorcist , it’s much too vulgar a display of power to be believed.
Some conventional plotting--such as the treacly romantic subplot and an outcome thatâs telegraphed early in the story (capped with a closing sequence straight out of The Usual Suspects)--robs the movie of some of its momentum, but Burgerâs confident direction and the leadsâ sharp performances allow The Illusionist to cast an intriguing spell.
In "The Illusionist," a satisfying period mystery from writer-director Neil Burger, it’s the rich, shadowy atmosphere of Dick Pope’s cinematography and Ondrej Nekvasil’s production design that grabs you first, then Philip Glass’ spellbinding score, which is nearly as great as his work in "The Hours," and then the story itself.
Although many of the customary period piece traditions are in place, by its very nature, it owes more to Sherlock Holmes and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense" than anything ever put on paper by Jane Austen.
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Writer-director Neil Burger, an émigré from commercials, made some noise with his debut indie feature Interview with the Assassin.
Writer/director Neil Burger takes quite a leap in scope from his 2002 Indie gem "Interview with the Assassin" with this beautifully styled period piece featuring a mesmerizing performance from Edward Norton and a beautifully villainous turn from Sewell.
The director, Neil Burger, has only one other feature to his name so far: the mock documentary Interview With the Assassin, which purported to introduce us to the second shooter in the Kennedy assassination.
That’s a damn impressive step up for filmmaker Neil Burger, who made the chilling but challenging micro-indie Interview with the Assassin a few years back and here takes on his first major film (for the producers of last year’s Oscar surprise Crash ).
Writer-director Neil Burger' ("Interview With The Assassin") intelligent script is adapted from the short story Eisenheim the Illusionist by Steven Millhauser, winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for his novel "Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer."
Filmmaker-to-watch Neil Burger (his first film "Interview With The Assassin" was a gem of independent cinema) tells an enchanting story about Eisenheim, a turn of the century magician (methodically played by Ed Norton) who reconnects with his childhood sweetheart, Duchess Sophie von Teschen (Jessica Biel).