The Illusionist is a romantic mystery about a brilliant stage magician, Eisenheim (Edward Norton), in turn of the century Vienna determined to win back the woman (Jessica Biel) he loves from a corrupt and dangerous Prince (Rufus Sewell). When they decide to escape together, a police inspector (Paul Giamatti) exposes their plans and the woman is found murdered. As the police work to stop him, Eisenheim must summon all of his extraordinary powers to prove that the Prince is guilty and bring down the monarchy in the process.

The ensemble cast in this film is amazing and very believable.A movie about a magician can be difficult to pull of in this time of special effects, but Director Neil Burger does a great job of making the magic tricks believable.One thing that does help is the gritty film style.It is a put off at first, but it definitely puts you into the time period and makes you feel like the movie was actually filmed in the early 1900's.This makes it easier to suspend your senses and get into the tricks because you feel like you are right there in the audience watching Eisenheim use his extraordinary powers.

This film is a must see and might very well mark the beginning of Oscar season caliber films.