things vanish. He has his limits, however. If his powers had been stronger, he might have wished away The Prestige, the Hugh Jackman hit that focused on a similar theme, opened shortly after thunder.
It also cost more than twice as much and moved twice as fast.
That said, The Illusionist's unhurried pace has its advantages. For one thing, it gives you a chance to warm to a performances: from Edward Norton, deftly sidestepping the numerous cliches strewn in his path as the magician, Eisenheim, and Sideways' Paul Giamatti, matching him move for move as his for the seemingly inexplicable.
collection by Pulitzer Prize-winner Steven Millhauser, the script is preoccupied with the human desire to be mystified. Eisenheim caters to an audience who need to believe that there is a brighter, morning. And he does it brilliantly, despite the fact that he Inspector Uhl, hence the bond between them.
They're two rational own. They're also working-class boys who would like to see the world run as a meritocracy. Meanwhile, they have to adjust as best they can to the fact that it's governed by aristocrats, many of whom are thugs.
The film was shot in Prague, standing in for the Vienna of the Belle Epoque, and it has a more romantic sheen to it than The greasepaint of a magician's backstage life.
Uhl works for Austria's Crown Prince Leopold, played by Rufus Sewell, who's been carving out his own line in charismatic creeps lately. The key to these is in his soft voice, unwavering gaze and ability to employ all these features with menace.
Here, he's plotting to overthrow his father, the Emperor, and the convinced that he has every chance of success.
rediscovers his childhood sweetheart, Sophie, a Hungarian duchess who happens to be Leopold's intended. She's played by Jessica Biel, years.
She should now be able to put those memories behind her, for glamour. She is also wise to the fact that Leopold wants her only because of her Hungarian court connections. And when Eisenheim reappears, she swiftly consents to run off with him.
