Edward Norton stars as Eisenheim, a turn-of-the-century magician in Vienna who draws the attention of everyone in town, including the Crown Prince and his girlfriend, Sophie, who turns out to be Eisenheim’s old childhood friend. His act becomes so amazing that it’s in question whether his magic is an illusion or actually supernatural.

The film starts out with Norton and Biel as young friends; he’s from a poor family while she’s an aristocrat. Torn apart by the unacceptable social aspect of such being friends, they part for fifteen years as Eisenheim departs Vienna. Once he returns, he calls for a volunteer on stage, and the next thing he knows, Sophie is standing in front of him, which sturs up old feelings for each other. Astonished by his act, the Crown Prince sends his Chief Inspector (Giamatti) to spy on him.

This movie isn’t too bad actually. I like Paul Giamatti a lot, but don’t really care for Edward Norton, and who in the world cares about Jessica Biel--but it was actually perfectly cast. The story is very intriguing, and one starts to wonder, as Eisenheim’s audience does, whether it’s real or just a show. The best part of the film for me was the lighting/cinematography.

Because it’s a turn of the century movie, its visual theme reflects that of an old time movie, with the look of flickering projection lights and with scenes ending with a circle fade out. Some scenes, especially flashback scenes, have that silent film look to them. But the story is very interesting as well. I found myself finishing the movie, with my eyes glued to the screen, instead of retiring to bed with my wife, even though it was nearly 2 a.m. This is a good movie to rent, that’s for sure.

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