One recent movie that has been receiving no publicity but is amazingly brilliant is The Illusionist. It is odd that such a good movie with mostly positive reviews receive absolutely no publicity at all. I didn't see any of the cast on late night talk shows or a preview of the movie on TV. The first time I heard about the movie was when someone asked me for a show I was interested in watching an hour prior to the showtime. My choice then was The Black Dahlia or The Illusionist. Knowing that The Illusionist comes from the producers of my recent favorites, Crash and Sideways, I naturally picked The Illusionist.

The movie tells a story of Eisenheim the Illusionist (Edward Norton) in the turn of the century Vienna where a rivalry exists between the magician and the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) who is bent on exposing Eisenheim as a fraud. The rivalry is further intensified by Duchess Sophie (Jessica Biel), a future consort of the prince and a love interest of Eisenheim. I especially like the character development of Paul Giamatti's character, Chief Inspector Uhl, from a petty agent of the prince to an honorable, rational detective who eventually become an Eisenheim's sympathizer. I actually found myself respecting and even empathizing with Uhl even more at the end of the story. And for Eishenheim, he is ultimately portrayed as the anti-hero of the story who strives to pit his values against those of the insecure prince. Ultimately, it is his talent in the arts of manipulating the truth or maybe even the supernatural that dazzles and tricks us into Eisenheim's game. The movie has a great cast and entertaining plot. I highly recommend the movie.

10/7/2006 2:49:42 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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