The Illusionist

Films about magicians are a bit like buses, you wait for ages for one and then three come along at a same time… (A British film 'Magicians' starring the comedians Mitchell & Webb is due to be released on 11th May)

Although at a first glance the premise of the 'The Illusionist' seems very similar to 'The Prestige' - they're both period dramas about magicians - 'The Illusionist' is very much a different beast. Rather than being a film about rival magicians trying to up-stage and thwart each other at every turn, the film concentrates on the rivalry between Eisenheim the Illusionist (Edward Norton) and Austria's Crown Prince (Rufus Sewell doing his trademark baddie) for the love of a woman (Jessica Biel).

The film is by no means fast-paced, but I felt it had an engaging enough story. The first half of the film I was wrapped up in the feel of the movie; the acting, the cinematography, Philip Glass' score. I spent the second half trying to guess what the film's inevitable twist would be…

Another thing that held my attention was the number of 'Jesus allusions' littered throughout the film; he's the son of a carpenter, he performs miracles (tricks), he 'raises' people from the dead, the establishment view him as a dangerous rabble-rouser, and [SPOILER] he seemingly returns from the dead [END SPOILER]. However, I don't know if this was a deliberate ploy on the part of the filmmakers or if I was reading too much into the film.

Not sure if I would recommend this film to everyone; its slow pacing will bore rather than entertain some people. However, I enjoyed the cat and mouse game played out by Norton and Paul Giamatti as the police inspector out to discover the illusionist's secrets. The film is more of a 'howdunit' rather than a 'whodunit'.