The Illusionist Review

I rented The Illusionist at the same time as The Prestige and have to say that of the two it's much better.  It's still not as good as The Count Of Monte Cristo but comes very close.  In  fact it's so good I could easily watch it again, which if you know me means a lot since I will almost never watch a movie more than once. In movie which takes place I believe in the early 1900's in Vienna.  Eisenheim ,(Edward Norton) is a mysterious stage magician who comes from poor roots but falls in love with an upper class girl named Sophie(Jessica Biel) whom he knew from childhood. Inspector Uhl (Giamatti) is the police inspector who is out to discredit Eisenheim.  He manages to play this character in a way so that you still like him even though you are rooting for Eisenheim the whole time. Crown Prince Leopold (Sewell) is an evil prince with a history of violence towards women who wants to marry Sophie to further his political career. The result is a  love triangle with Giamatti's character stuck in the middle trying to figure the whole thing out. The special effects are so well done that I would recommend the movie for them alone.  This movie is for anyone who loves a good mystery combined with a little magic and romance thrown in.