Follow the bouncing ball

Two of America's greatest living actors are here to tell us that you shouldn't always believe what you see. Ed Norton is Eisenheim, the world's greatest illusionist. Paul Giamatti is Chief Inspector Uhl and he is determined to find out exactly what is going on during Eisenheim's performances, magic or trickery.

"The Illusionist" begins with Eisenheim as a young boy who while trudging through a vast field encounters an elderly gentlemen who performs some astounding magic in front of the young boy's eyes. This incident propels Eisenman into his life of prestidigitation. He meets a young girl of privilege but they are soon separated by her family because of his lowly status.

Fast forward fifteen years to Vienna. Eisenheim is now a famous illusionist wowing local audiences. Chief Inspector Uhl is both an admirer of Eisenheim and determined to figure out exactly how Eisenheim is performing his magic. He is also working on the case at the behest of his boss, the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). The Prince, partially out of jealousy, doesn't much like the attention being given to Eisenheim. He also fears it might cost him the loyalty of his people because the Prince has secrets that he will stop at nothing to protect. The Prince's betroathed, Sophie (Jessica Biel) upon meeting Eisenheim is drawn to him for reasons I won't delve into here.

What follows is an attempt at combining mysticism, illusion and magic with human nature. All collide in the final act of "The Illusionist" with mixed results. Norton turns in his expected outstanding performance and Giamatti does a nice turn as well. Sewell plays like more of a caricature, perhaps the largest flaw of this otherwise tightly packaged endeavor. The other problem is the seemingly ten minute wrap-up designed to explain everything to the audience so quickly that it appears someone is in a hurry to catch a plane.

"The Illusionist" is no doubt worth seeing but falls short of its lofty expectations. It's a little bit arty, a little bit mysterious and clever, but in the end succumbs to feeling like just like one of the apparitions viewed. It may or may not be there but you can see right through it.