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Title: The Illusionist (2006)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Edward Norton | ... | Eisenheim | |
| Paul Giamatti | ... | Inspector Uhl | |
| Jessica Biel | ... | Sophie | |
| Rufus Sewell | ... | Crown Prince Leopold | |
| Eddie Marsan | ... | Josef Fischer (as Edward Marsan) | |
| Jake Wood | ... | Jurka | |
 |
Tom Fisher | ... | Willigut |
| Aaron Taylor-Johnson | ... | Young Eisenheim (as Aaron Johnson) | |
| Eleanor Tomlinson | ... | Young Sophie | |
| Karl Johnson | ... | Doctor / Old Man | |
| Vincent Franklin | ... | Loschek | |
| Nicholas Blane | ... | Herr Doebler | |
|
|
Philip McGough | ... | Dr. Hofzinser |
| Erich Redman | ... | Count Rainer | |
| Michael Carter | ... | Von Thurnburg | |
In late nineteenth century Vienna, renowned illusionist Eisenheim is reunited with the Duchess von Teschen when she is volunteered from the audience to participate in an illusion during one of his performances. Despite having not seen each other in fifteen years when they were teenagers, they almost immediately recognize each other as Eduard Abramovich and Sophie von Teschen, they who had a doomed romance at that time due to their class differences. The Duchess is soon to be wed to the Crown Prince Leopold in what would be for him a marriage solely in pursuit of power: overthrowing his father, the Emperor Leopold, as well as overtaking the Hungarian side of the empire. The Crown Prince is known to use violence against women if it suits his needs or purposes. As such, the Duchess, who realizes that she still loves Eisenheim and he her, can never leave the Crown Prince without it jeopardizing her life. After Eisenheim humiliates the Crown Prince at a private show which results in an ... Written by Huggo
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First of all, let me say this was a beautifully-filmed movie, just gorgeous from first to last frame. That gets big points with me. Just as impressive was the story, a fantasy-mystery- romance-drama combination set in Vienna, Austria, around the turn of the 20th century.
It is a story that should keep most viewers intrigued all the way and perhaps surprised quite a bit at the end. Edward Norton does his normal job of making you fascinated with whatever character he's playing, this time a magician with almost supernatural powers: "Herr Eisenheim." The character he plays, and the tone of the movie in general, is pretty low-key with next to nothing in (on screen) violence or profanity.
It's simply a classy film and a modern-day one that older folks would very much enjoy as well as younger adults. Paul Giamatti also is very interesting as the police inspector, torn between his allegiance to the villain crown prince and to the truth and what is the right thing to do. The movie, however, belongs to Norton.
In a nutshell: good stuff, classy film. I haven't talked to anybody yet who watched this and didn't like it.