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Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "THE ILLUSIONIST" (2006) (Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Heavy Heavy *Moderate Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Minor Moderate None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Moderate None Moderate Heavy QUICK TAKE: Drama: An early 20th century magician must contend with the Crown Prince's efforts to shut down his show after he romantically pursues the aristocrat's fiancée. PLOT: It's the dawn of the 20th century in Vienna and Eisenheim the Illusionist (EDWARD NORTON) is wowing audiences with his magic shows that seem to defy explanation. Everyone's impressed except for Crown Prince Leopold (RUFUS SEWELL) who knows the magician is a fraud and orders Chief Inspector Walter Uhl (PAUL GIAMATTI) to prove it. Things become more complicated when Leopold and his fiancée Sophie von Teschen (JESSICA BIEL) attend one of the shows. Eisenheim has Sophie join him on the stage for an illusion, and it's then that he realizes she's his long-lost childhood friend from whom he was separated 15 years earlier due to their differing social classes. Made aware of Leopold's nasty reputation, Eisenheim knows he must get Sophie away from him, and soon a romance develops between them. From that point on, they try to hide that from the Crown Prince as well as Uhl who's torn between his allegiance to Leopold and his admiration of Eisenheim's craft and the fact that they're both of the same class. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For some sexuality and violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: EDWARD NORTON plays an early 20th century illusionist who finds himself romantically drawn to his former childhood friend despite her being engaged to the Crown Prince. Nevertheless, he becomes her covert lover, and he must then contend with Leopold and Uhl's efforts to shut down both him and his show. PAUL GIAMATTI plays the police inspector who strives to investigate and then shut down Eisenheim on orders from Leopold. He smokes pipes and finds himself torn between having to work for Leopold and his admiration and class identification with Eisenheim. JESSICA BIEL plays the beautiful duchess who's engaged to marry Leopold, but ends up having a fling with Eisenheim, her former childhood friend. RUFUS SEWELL plays the steely Crown Prince who wants Eisenheim proven to be a fraud and his show to be shut down, particularly after he learns his fiancé has become romantically involved with him. He smokes some, drinks to the point of being intoxicated, and becomes violent with Sophie and Eisenheim. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this drama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of a minor expletive, while a few colorful phrases are also uttered. Some non-explicit, but sexually related dialogue is present, as is a steamy sexual encounter (showing skin and physical contact, but no direct nudity). Violence includes a suicide via a gunshot to the head (we don't see the impact, but do see the body and bloody wound), another apparent murder (that we later learn was faked), threatening with a gun, and some struggling. It's possible some of those scenes and/or some moments involving conjured spirits (as part of a magic show) could be unsettling to some sensitive viewers, but nothing's otherwise terribly suspenseful or frightening. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some drink and/or smoke. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of camera movement throughout the film, along with a few spin around camera shots. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Leopold and others have drinks. A cop asks Eisenheim, "Join us for a drink?" but he's just saying that as he and another get the magician to take him to see Uhl (who has what looks like beer in front of him with his meal). Leopold has a drink. Leopold tells others, "Please join me for a drink." Leopold has a drink. As Leopold confronts Sophie, she tells him that he's drunk. We see a needle injecting something into a vein on the top of Leopold's hand, but we don't know if it's narcotic in nature or not. We see several quick flashbacks of Leopold drinking and appearing intoxicated in one scene. BLOOD/GORE Drunken and angry, Leopold follows Sophie into a barn. We hear the sound of a sword being drawn and then of impact. We then see Sophie ride out, slouched over, on her horse. We later see the rider-less horse that has a large bloodstain on its side. A woman's body is discovered floating face-up in some water. We then see a bloody wound on her neck that we later see in more graphic detail (Spoiler Alert: But we later learn this was faked). A man commits suicide with a pistol shot to the head (we hear the shot, but don't see the impact, although we then see the body on the floor with a bloody wound to the side of the head). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Those opposed to magic and such illusions might see Eisenheim as having a bad attitude for dealing in such matters (including brief talk of the "dark arts"). Some miscellaneous people have a bad attitude toward young Eisenheim, calling him names. When a woman finds young Sophie with him, she says the duchess can't be there with him as his kind are peasants. Eisenheim's manager only seems concerned with the money they can make or that which they lose when their show is shut down. Eisenheim's manager says that Leopold is known for thrashing the women in his life and that he reportedly pushed one from a balcony to cover up the beating he gave her. We learn that Leopold plans to overthrow his father, the ruler, and he's also determined to shut down Eisenheim and his show. After Sophie says that Eisenheim was a childhood acquaintance, Leopold asks if she sleeps with all of her childhood friends. He then says that she will not share his bed if she slept with Eisenheim, but Sophie informs him she wasn't going to be doing that anyway as she's leaving him. Leopold yells at Sophie and then backhands her. When she walks away, he yells, "Don't you disobey me!" As cops investigate a dead woman's clothed body, one starts to lift her dress (presumably to see if she was raped or just for a peek), but he's stopped and nothing is seen. A cop breaks and enters into Eisenheim's theater at night to snoop around. FRIGHTENING SCENES The supernatural type scenes listed below may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to those sensitive to such matters, but aren't otherwise inherently scary (as would occur in a horror film). With the spirits seen on Eisenheim's stage, there are various references to souls, the afterlife and such. As part of an illusion, we see a mirror reflection of a hooded figure striking another hooded figure with a sword (we see the motion of the swing, but no actual impact or blood, although the second figure falls to the stage and a spirit rises up from that body and then out of the mirror and onto the stage). Leopold yells at Sophie and then backhands her. When she walks away, he yells, "Don't you disobey me!" Drunken and angry, Leopold follows Sophie into a barn. We hear the sound of a sword being drawn and then of impact. We then see Sophie ride out, slouched over, on her horse. We later see the rider-less horse that has a large bloodstain on its side. A woman's body is discovered floating face-up in some water. We then see a bloody wound on her neck that we later see in more graphic detail (Spoiler Alert: But we later learn this was faked). Eisenheim conjures a "spirit" that appears as only the upper-half of a man's torso (and head), shocking those who are watching. Eisenheim conjures the "spirit" of a boy and a man's hand passes through it (and Uhl backs away as the boy passes him). Eisenheim conjures a dead woman's spirit, shocking those in the audience who are watching. Leopold holds a pistol on Uhl as forces from his father's army arrive to question him. Several times during this, he appears ready to shoot Uhl, but ultimately does not. A man commits suicide with a pistol shot to the head (we hear the shot, but don't see the impact, although we then see the body on the floor with a bloody wound to the side of the head). GUNS/WEAPONS Pistol/Rifles/Swords: Carried and/or used to threaten or cause death. See "Violence" for details. Leopold fires a rifle while hunting (and we then see some animal being dragged along the ground in the background of the shot). IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Were they f*cking?" "You muck snake," "Alley rat," "For Pete's sake," "Are you completely corrupt?" (followed by "Not completely") and "You fool." Some kids may be inspired to try to perform such illusions/tricks as appear in the film. JUMP SCENES The sudden sound of a loud gunshot might startle some viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of ominous, suspenseful and dramatic music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 damn and 1 use of "My God." Note: We're positive an earlier screening of this film contained a sexual use of the "f" word (confirmed by another reviewer from the same screening), but another reviewer who saw it later (and was asked to listen for it) said it was not present, so the film may have been edited to remove that. SEX/NUDITY Sophie shows some cleavage. Eisenheim and Sophie share a passionate kiss outside and then go inside his place where they continue and also start to unbutton the other's shirt (and we see a close-up of her locket hanging in her cleavage). He then gets on top of her on a bed and we see various brief and close-up images of hands caressing skin (including what looks like across a bare hip) as well as direct skin to skin contact (but the shots are so close that no explicit details are seen). We then see them post-sex, lying side by side (he's shirtless while we see her bare shoulders and then back, and she also holds something up over her chest when she partially sits up). A classical style statue shows bare breasts (seen from a distance). When Uhl informs Leopold that Eisenheim and Sophie were seen together, Leopold asks if they were touching or kissing and then asks if they were fornicating. Note: We're positive an earlier screening of this film contained the sexual use of the "f" word instead of "fornicating" (confirmed by another reviewer from the same screening), but another reviewer who saw it later (and was asked to listen for it) said it was not present, so the film may have been edited to remove that. After Sophie says that Eisenheim was a childhood acquaintance, Leopold asks if she sleeps with all of her childhood friends. He then says that she will not share his bed if she slept with Eisenheim, but Sophie informs him she wasn't going to be doing that anyway as she's leaving him. As cops investigate a dead woman's clothed body, one starts to lift her dress (presumably to see if she was raped or just for a peek), but he's stopped and nothing is seen. SMOKING Uhl (pipe) and Leopold (cigarettes) each smoke several times, while a minor cop character and some miscellaneous characters smoke in several scenes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The notion of magic and illusions. We see an imagined view of young Eisenheim meeting a magician who does miraculous tricks and then vanishes, as does a large tree near him. Suicide. Kids being separated due to belonging to different social classes. VIOLENCE Upset audience members clash with police (some pushing and struggling) when Uhl announces they're arresting Eisenheim. Some men yank young Eisenheim and young Sophie from a small structure where they've been meeting and push Eisenheim to the ground. As part of an illusion, we see a mirror reflection of a hooded figure striking another hooded figure with a sword (we see the motion of the swing, but no actual impact or blood, although the second figure falls to the stage and a spirit rises up from that body and then out of the mirror and onto the stage). Leopold yells at Sophie and then backhands her. When she walks away, he yells, "Don't you disobey me!" Drunken and angry, Leopold follows Sophie into a barn. We hear the sound of a sword being drawn and then of impact. We then see Sophie ride out, slouched over, on her horse. We later see the rider-less horse that has a large bloodstain on its side. Later, we see her apparently dead body but (Spoiler Alert) eventually learn all of that was faked. After a cop breaks into their theater at night, some workers toss the man out through the door and to the street. We see the above scene again where show patrons clash with police after Eisenheim is arrested. During this, one cop has a show worker around the neck with an arm. Leopold holds a pistol on Uhl as forces from his father's army arrive to question him. Several times during this, he appears ready to shoot Uhl, but ultimately does not. A man commits suicide with a pistol shot to the head (we hear the shot, but don't see the impact, although we then see the body on the floor with a bloody wound to the side of the head). Reviewed June 12, 2006 / Posted August 18, 2006

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