The Illusionist

What i found interesting about the illusionist before i watched it was the fact that it was a PG and still managed to a thriller - i know they don't all have to contain violence but it's a very common convention. The film is about a magician Eisenheim (Edward Norton) who falls in love with Sophie as a young boy but she is a Duchess and the two are forbidden to see each other.
Years later he comes to town as a master illusionist and the 2 meet again at a performance, they oinstantly realise they are still in love and make a plan to run away. However Sophia is engaged to the Crown Prince he finds out of her love and she is found dead in a river.

From that point on most of the story is driven by one question 'Is she dead or was it a trick/an illusion?'. After she is found 'dead' Eisenheim leaves town and sets up a different kind of show where he summons the dead (however it is all a trick) and he summons Sophia and finally himself at the end. The final scene is him running to Sophia and therefore showing she was alive all along and they are now going to start a new life together as everyone believes them to be dead.

Back to the point about the PG rating, i think this shows that the film is easy to second guess because there is really only one you want to know - is she dead or alive, and that it's easy to understand. Despite this i think the way it explores pushing the boundaries of what people will believe is really successful and interesting.

Rating: ***