...For splendid camera work. Review on The Illusionist Movie

"Nothing is what it seems"

I knew the prestige and the Illusionist had releases in the same year. Fighting and fending off Christopher Nolan and still earning a good place in audience's minds is not an easy task. Especially when you know the context of both the movies is similar and those revolve around same time period. That is when I knew that I have to watch this movie sometime. It has been on my watch list since.

Few weeks back while travelling to Mumbai I could strike that off from my to-do list and I must say, Neil Burger does the job pretty well. The name Illusionist kind of foretells that the movie will not be entirely linear and as expected the movie starts in Midas-res. We are given the story from the point of chief inspector Uhl. He has arrived to arrest the protagonist. And just when he is about to handcuff him we are taken in the past. The whole story begins to unravel then. With occasional narration from him the audience is taken on the fairy tale.

Apart from the reason mentioned above, there is another reason why I chose to see this one. That other reason was Mr. Edward Norton. I have always enjoyed his movies, and he does not fail this time as well. As a magician he brings out calm and content composure. Something entirely opposite of what we saw in American History X. Whenever he is on screen, he is always comfortably in control of the situation, his charisma very assuring. Unlike prestige, this movie has only one primary character. Jessica Biel as his love interest has an important role to play as well, but along with the rest of the cast she is also shadowed. Don’t get me wrong, with the old England backdrop she and her charming context of being a duchess are a pure pleasure to watch indeed but in terms of acting, Mr Norton deserves to be at the top as the illusionist.

If the tricks of magic are revealed then movies somehow lose its enchantment. What would it feel like if you are told Rapunzel wore a wig or snow white was just make-up job? This movie refrains to be logical at times just to entice the audience a little deeper in the act. May it be the scene with the sword, or his magnum opus disappearance. This retains the curiosity in the film till the last frame.

This movie somehow reminded me of a Hindi movie Gujarish, Kings Speech and a few others. This was not due to the content but because of the magnificent camera work. The colors on screen look so alive and rich that you fail to realize the boundary of the screen sometimes. You can think of the scene where the crown prince is shooting an air rifle, the puff of smoke which emerges out of the barrel of that gun is also vividly captured. Such scenes keep you transfixed and the illusionist casts a web of illusions on you. This is also the reason probably the movie would remain in your mind for a long time.

Apart from Edward Norton’s performance and the cinematography there is nothing much to conclude here, for I didn’t find the ending much convincing. They have tried to give a little twist at the end to shatter audience’s perception but that somehow lacks the punch to make a considerable impact. The movie still remains in your mind though, and you still would recommend it to your friends for a single watch at least.