The power of illusion

Somehow I didn't see either of 2006's magician movies ("The Prestige" being the other) in theaters so I can't compare the two. That's a good thing, because "The Illusionist" is a fine film on its own that shouldn't only be weighed against something similar.\nEdward Norton plays Eisenheim, a popular magician in 1900 Vienna. Eisenheim's shows capture the attention of the city's Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), who swears him as an enemy when Eisenheim forms a relationship with his fiancée (Jessica Biel, finally in a role that doesn't require her to just be hot.) Leopold assigns his chief policeman Uhl (Paul Giamatti) to watch over Eisenheim until problems arise and cause Uhl to doubt his loyalties. \nThe film is beautifully photographed, largely thanks to the location (most of which was shot in Prague), the elaborate costumes of the day (done by costumer Ngila Dickinson) and the theatrical sets (designed by Ondrej Nekvasil). Lighting is especially well-used, as electricity didn't exist at the time. Only natural lighting and candles appear to have been used, creating a darkened, entrancing effect that slightly evokes the feel of silent era films. As this is a film about magic there's plenty of eye-candy (eerie spirits arise, objects fly, plants grow at alarming speeds). It's nice to see constant visual effects that don't involve dragons for a change. Norton and Giamatti give calm but always confident performances (traits of musicians and showmen of the time), but then again they rarely ever fail. \nThere's only a few special features including a making-of featurette, which mostly only shows clips from the film and an interview with Jessica Biel (most of which is used in the making-of feature). However, for those who have time to invest a second viewing of the film, director Neil Berger's commentary is fascinating. He discusses many subtleties one wouldn't catch upon first viewing and describes the art of magic. We learn that many of the effects in the film were actually performed rather than using CGI (pretty cool, if you've seen the tricks).