Friday, October 13, 2006
Friday Movie Review
Went alone to see The Illusionist at a theater with the worst parking lot in Denver. It was pretty good but I had some quibbles. First the good. The lighting is uniformly terrific. Most of the acting is first rate. Paul Giamatti is terrific as usual, Edward Norton explores the limits of a minimalist performance and Jessica Biel (whom I last saw shooting an arrow at Dracula--don't ask) was actually OK. I hate to see Rufus Sewell deteriorate before our eyes. He was so handsome in Cold Comfort Farm and I thought his career would take off--didn't happen and I guess he's not through yet as he's not yet 39. You certainly hated his character, so I guess he was an effective actor here.
OK, the quibbles. There is no doubt about the end of the movie from about halfway through. We know we're seeing illusions designed to serve the ends of the not doomed lovers and we're right. The lack of surprise undercuts the power the movie, had it had a real twist, could have had. And what's with the accents? The movie is set in pre-WWI Vienna (and a few other parts of Austria) so of course everyone speaks English. However, it's not real English, but English with a slight non-Germanic accent. I'm OK with English speaking movies set in different lands, but giving the actors accents that don't fit the place is just silly. Wouldn't they have needed to sound like Schwarzenegger? Or Kurt Waldheim? I can't think of any other Austrians.
The movie has a stately pace but is only boring when it's dealing with children. I loved seeing places in and around Vienna I recognized and it is a great city. The lovers doomed by station in the Austro-Hungarian Empire is an often filmed subject (Mayerling was the latest) and it got a good shot in the arm by having the huge illusion movie (the best recent example of which is The 6th Sense) woven in. You could do a lot worse than this movie.
ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention that the soundtrack music is by Philip Glass. It actually sounded pretty good, although to me Philip Glass always sounds pretty good because he always sounds the same. Like Bernard Herrmann.
OK, the quibbles. There is no doubt about the end of the movie from about halfway through. We know we're seeing illusions designed to serve the ends of the not doomed lovers and we're right. The lack of surprise undercuts the power the movie, had it had a real twist, could have had. And what's with the accents? The movie is set in pre-WWI Vienna (and a few other parts of Austria) so of course everyone speaks English. However, it's not real English, but English with a slight non-Germanic accent. I'm OK with English speaking movies set in different lands, but giving the actors accents that don't fit the place is just silly. Wouldn't they have needed to sound like Schwarzenegger? Or Kurt Waldheim? I can't think of any other Austrians.
The movie has a stately pace but is only boring when it's dealing with children. I loved seeing places in and around Vienna I recognized and it is a great city. The lovers doomed by station in the Austro-Hungarian Empire is an often filmed subject (Mayerling was the latest) and it got a good shot in the arm by having the huge illusion movie (the best recent example of which is The 6th Sense) woven in. You could do a lot worse than this movie.
ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention that the soundtrack music is by Philip Glass. It actually sounded pretty good, although to me Philip Glass always sounds pretty good because he always sounds the same. Like Bernard Herrmann.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 7:33 AM 
