Rating of
3.5/4
Its all just an illusion
TheWolf - wrote on 07/25/07
A very cool story that doesn't give anything away. That is the only way that this can be really explained. The story is good, and the creativity of the magic of Eisenheim is quite unique. The one thing that this movie does differently is that it doesn't give the leads away. All of the magic that Eisenheim performs is considered to be the illusions of a master craftsman. Unlike other drama / mysteries the only explanations that are given are how things came to be, none of the illusions are really given away. Of course many of the illusions are so over the top that coming up with a rational explanation would be extremely difficult, so to keep the story fine tuned they didn't explain how they are performed.
The back and fourth play between Norton and Giamatti is brilliant. They both allow their talents to shine and with their combination it is amazing to see that they both managed to keep things in check so that neither was a show / scene stealer.
Its a great movie, with a lot of good effects, the light sepia tone overlay used throughout the film that appears to give the film some age is a good effect to set the tone and the idea of time.
