Possessed of spells and secrets gained over years of travel in Earth's darkest quarters, our enigmatic hero sets out to reclaim his love by sleight of hand. Meanwhile, Police Inspector Uhl (rhymes with "drool," played by Paul Giamatti) is torn between his loyalty to the crown prince's interests and his fascination with the mysterious Eisenheim.
"The Illusionist" raises a neat question: How does a magician enchant an audience when the medium is film in the digital age? In much the same way that live magicians work, I suppose. Magic tricks these days are more about being clever than deceptive. A magician's audience almost certainly knows that none of the magic is "real"–yet we marvel, simply because we cannot see how the trick is done.
This is true onscreen as in real life. Eisenheim the Illusionist can put on a show for us precisely because he is presented as an illusionist, as opposed to someone with actual supernatural powers. The tricks in "The Illusionist" are interesting because the film suggests that their ostensive effects are really possible, and not simply the work of CGI or stop motion photography, hence we are presented with illusions which defy rational explanation just as if Eisenheim were standing right before us.
This formulation entails an ironic caveat, however. In order for us to be convinced that the tricks are really tricks (and not special effects), they must possess a quality of believability-or, the filmmaker must be willing to explain how the magic is done. Here "The Illusionist" stumbles, for Eisenheim's climactic performance does not seem possible in the least, nor is its secret divulged or even hinted at.
Consequently, audience members are left with the impression that the filmmaker was not sufficiently clever to devise such an illusion, that he simply turned to CGI to produce an effect, in vacuum space, without fostering any real sense of mystery as to how it could be done.
For a good while, however, "The Illusionist" is eminently watchable. The film is dark and lush and exudes an immersive fin de siècle charm. Philip Glass has lent his talent to the production as well; the opening credits advance to the backdrop of a smoldering score which is at once understated, per the composer's minimalist signature, and mesmerizing. Whereas magic acts nowadays are typically garish, Vegas-style spectacles, "The Illusionist" finds the heart of magic in its ability to make us wonder at the mysteries of reality and perception.
In his first performance, when Eisenheim extends his hand and bids a seed grow into an orange tree, the effect is not simply astonishing, but artful. While the film may fall short at its end, our disappointment here is keener for the fact that so much of "The Illusionist" is truly enchanting.