Caught this quiet-yet-eloquent and beautifully made period 'who dunnit' this weekend and I would highly recommend it. I'm pretty sure this will get lost among the pirates and other smash-em-up action flicks and blood-dripping horror this summer and that will truly be a shame.
Ed Norton, as always, delivers a great performance, and Paul Giamatti is also very good [and very different from what I've seen him do so far] as the Constable. The huge surprise for me was Jessical Biel as the love interest. Up til now she's done the pop-culture spoiled teenager thing pretty well; here she's refined and looks completely in her element in this turn-of-the-century piece. {I found myself thinking "hey, who's that gal who looks alot like that gal on 7th heaven? She's a really great actress.} Rufus Sewell [a great meanie, you may remember him from 'Knights Tale'] is perfect here--handsome, yet mean and unpredictable.
There are a few slow spots but enough twists to keep most people interested. Most of the film is shot in Prague and the cinematography takes full advantage of the landscapes, making it well worth seeing it on the big screen.
This would be a great 'date' movie and I would guess that 77% of the men who take their girl friends or first dates to this film, if everything else went right, will definitely get kissed at the end of the evening. I don't think you could say that if you took her to see "Snakes on a Plane". No really.
I live where there are a few indie houses around that get the early releases of some movies. The Illusionist is supposed to be fully released 9/8. Marketing-wise, I have no idea what this means, but well, there it is.
And to continue to make the 17 year old happy, if nudity of Ms. Biel is your thing, this movie would make you...very content. [Read: artful nudity, not like Hallie Berry in Swordfish or anything.]
I saw the movie last weekend and it was a lot of fun. I saw the ending coming a few minutes in advance but still a good movie. Strong performances from Edward Norton & Paul Giammati but a very strong turn by Rufus Sewell as Crown Prince Leopold. Sewell had very intense eyes.
I liked the plot of the movie but I got hung up in the history. The portrayal of Ludwig was horribly inaccurate. In real life, Sophie's elder sister Elizabeth was one of his best friends, not to mention that he was a homosexual, so it doesn't seem likely that he would abuse Sophie. Also, his father had died when he was eighteen, before he was engaged to Sophie and he eventually ended the engagement. Sorry, but I live in Bavaria so I know the history and it bugs me to see it so misrepresented.
There was no Ludwig in the movie. The character of the crown prince was Leopold. I don't think this movie purported to be based on real events.
This movie was set in Vienna, Austria, not Bavaria.
The only suicide by an Austrian Crown Prince was Rudolph and I don't think this film was based on the events surrounding his death. There was certainly no magician involved in his death.
The movie, per Wikipedia, is based on the short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist" by Steven Millhauser. The story takes place in Vienna but for you travel buffs it was shot in Prague.
The story, however, is loosley based on a historical figure, but of course, I can't locate the name on the web right now. Apparently there was a Belgian Crown Prince [not named Leopold] who either killed his fiance and then killed himself. OR they both committed suicide together. OR they were both murdered and the event was covered up for political reasons. If I find the link I'll post it later.
Just read that someone already posted it above. This movie was loosely based on the mysterious death of Crown Prince Rudolph and his mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera. [also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mayerling_Incident ].
