"THE ILLUSIONIST" (2006) Review

 

"THE ILLUSIONIST" (2006) Review

Neil Burger wrote and directed this loose adaptation of Steven Millhauser's story called "Eisenheim the Illusionist". This story about a magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna starred Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell.

The movie’s plot focused upon the romance that had first formed between the magician Eisenheim (Norton) and his childhood friend, the socially superior Sophie, Duchess von Teschen (Biel) – a romance that ends up threatening the political plans of Crown Prince Leopold of Austria-Hungary (Sewell) and Chief Inspector Uhl’s position with the Vienna police and his role as the Crown Prince’s henchman. "THE ILLUSIONIST" began in the middle of the story – with Chief Inspector Uhl revealing Eisenheim ‘s background and childhood friendship with Sophie. The movie continued with the events that led to the Crown Prince’s interest in the magician – Eisenheim’s arrival in Vienna, his reunion with Sophie during a performance and a special performance by the magician for the Crown Prince and his entourage, in which Eisenheim embarrasses the prince for a brief moment.

Sophie appears at Eisenheim’s quarters to warn him about his actions at the royal palace. The two end up declaring their feelings for one another by making love. After Sophie reveals Crown Prince’s Leopold’s reasons for proposing marriage – he needs her Hungarian family connections to build a power base strong enough to usurp his father from the Imperial throne – both come to the conclusion that Leopold would never let her go. Even if they decide to make a run for it, the prince would hunt them down and kill them. Realizing this, Eisenheim decides to unfold plans that would allow Sophie to escape from Leopold’s clutches and guarantee the couple’s future safety and happiness.

I have never read Millhauser’s story about Eisenheim. But I must admit that I became enamored of Burger’s cinematic adaptation since the first time I saw it. The story possessed many elements that made it entertaining and unique for me. One, it had plenty of romance, due to the romance between Eisenheim and Sophie; along with the love triangle between the two and Crown Prince Leopold. It had intrigue from the plot centered around the Crown Prince’s efforts to rid Eisenheim as a rival for not only Sophie’s affections, but those of the Austrian people. It had mystery thanks to Eisenheim’s mind-blowing magic, Chief Inspector Uhl’s attempts to expose it, and the tragic events that dominate the film’s latter half. And Crown Prince Leopold’s plans to dethrone his father, along with his competition with Eisenheim for the Viennese public’s affections gave the movie a political tone. It simply had everything and Burger managed to combine it all with a superb script.

The cast of "THE ILLUSIONIST" contributed to the movie’s superior quality, as well. Edward Norton was superb as the magician Eisenheim. Despite being the movie’s main character, he did a great job in conveying the character’s many personality facets – including his love for Sophie (which makes this role one of Norton’s most romantic), and his contempt toward both Crown Prince Leopold and Chief Inspector Ulh Even more importantly, Norton managed to convey some of these emotional aspects of Eisenheim’s personality, while retaining the man’s enigmatic nature. Jessica Biel literally glowed as Sophie, Duchess von Teschen. Frankly, I believe the character might be one of her best roles. Biel had portrayed Sophie more than just an elegant and charming woman from the Austro-Hungarian ruling class. She revealed Sophie’s inner sadness from her earlier disrupted relationship with Eisenheim and fear of facing a lifetime with the odious Crown Prince. Speaking of which . . . kudos to Rufus Sewell for portraying one of the most complex screen villains in recent years. Sewell’s Leopold was not simply a one-note villain who sneered at everyone he deemed inferior to himself. The actor portrayed the prince as an ambitious and emotional man who desired respect and even love from the public and those close to him. Yet, despite this desire, he seemed incapable of returning such feelings to others, especially Sophie, due to his arrogance and vindictive nature. But if you had asked me which performance in "THE ILLUSIONIST" really impressed me, I would have to say Paul Giamatti as Chief Inspector Walter Uhl. Giamatti either had the bad or good luck – it depends upon one’s point of view – to portray the most complex character in the movie. This is a man torn between his curiosity over Einheim’s talent as a magician, his ambition to be more than just a policeman, and his sense of justice and outrage toward the tragic event revealed in the second half. Giamatti’s Chief Inspector Ulh is a man literally torn apart over toward whom he should direct his loyalty. And the actor did a superb job in portraying every nuance in the character. In my opinion, he managed to dominate the film without being its main star.

I really do not have much to say about the film’s production values. Granted, production designer Ondrej Nekvasil; along with costume designer Ngila Dickson, and art directors Stefan Kovacik and Vlasta Svoboda, did an admirable job of re-creating turn-of-the-century Vienna on the screen. And yet . . . aside from Dickson’s elegant costumes, I found the movie’s Viennese setting to be slightly colorless. Almost empty. The setting lacked the sharp colors of that particular period shown in other movies like 1969’s "THE ASSASSINATION BUREAU, LTD" and 1976’s "THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION".

Despite my complaint against the film’s slightly colorless production designs, I have to give kudos to Neil Burger for writing a rich adaptation of Millhauser’s story. He also did an excellent job of conveying his vision of the story through his direction of the crew and a cast of talented actors that included Norton, Biel, Sewell and Giamatti. "THE ILLUSIONST" is a beautiful and mysterious love story filled with magic and political intrigue. After nearly eighteen years, I still find it enjoyable to watch.

"GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY" (2022) Review

 

"GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY" (2022) Review

Following the success of his 2019 murder mystery, "KNIVES OUT"; writer-director Rian Johnson created a standalone sequel called "GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY". The movie starred Daniel Craig, who reprised his role as the Louisiana-born master detective, Benoit Blanc.

Set during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, "GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY" . . . or "GLASS ONION" . . . featured Blanc solving a case that revolved around a tech billionaire named Miles Bron, owner and co-founder of the Alpha tech company, and his closest "friends" at the billionaire's private Greek island. The movie began with several of Bron's friends each receiving a wooden puzzle box to decipher to find an invitation inside - an invitation to a murder mystery game. The friends travel to Miles's island, along with companions for two of the guests. Famous detective Benoit Blanc joins them. Miles claimed he did not invite Blanc, but he allowed the latter to stay, assuming another guest sent him an invitation as a joke. Among those invited include:

*Alpha head scientist Lionel Toussaint
*Connecticut governor Claire Debell
*Controversial fashion designer and model Birdie Jay
*Birdie's personal assistant Peg
*Men's rights streamer Duke Cody
*Whiskey, Duke's girlfriend and Twitch channel assistant
*Ousted Alpha co-founder Cassandra "Andi" Brand

Not long after their arrival and before dinner, Miles showed off his valuable glass sculptures, as well as the Mona Lisa, which he has on loan from the Louvre to his guests. Miles also revealed that his mansion is powered by "Klear", a hydrogen-based alternative fuel that Alpha will launch imminently, despite Lionel and Claire's concerns that it is untested and dangerous. Blanc managed to solve Miles's murder mystery game immediately before it could barely start. But he privately warned Miles that his guests have motives to kill him. Before the first day could end, a murder occurred inside the mansion.

Once again, Rian Johnson utilized a social issue as a theme for his second murder mystery. In the case of "GLASS ONION", one would think the issue revolved around Birdie's casual racism or Duke's sexism. But the real issue seemed to be the character of Miles Bron. It did not take me long to realize that Johnson had based Miles on tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page. But many have claimed that the Miles Bron bore the strongest resemblance to the most publicized tech mogul - Elon Musk. This movie seemed more focused on condemning the tech mogul types and probably the Internet celebrities than simply focusing on the usual social issues. I am not criticizing Johnson for this, especially since many of these tech moguls have proven to be influential on society today. Perhaps too influential . . . and for better or worse. In the case of Miles Bron, the worse seemed more obvious.

Miles' impact on the major characters seemed to be more personal than political. Both Lionel and Claire find themselves being forced by Miles to endorse his new alternative fuel, Klear; despite their fears that is untested and dangerous. Such endorsement would endanger their reputations and careers. Birdie needs Miles' financial support for her fashion line following the revelation that her factories were basically sweatshops. And Duke hopes Miles will give him a show on the latter's Alpha News network. Unfortunately, Miles has developed a sexual interest in Whiskey, Duke's girlfriend. However, Johnson's screenplay seemed more interested in the negative portrayal of Miles as the typical tech billionaire than his connections to the movie's other major characters. And this emphasis on tech moguls like Miles Bron, despite being genuinely interesting and entertaining, seemed to have a less powerful message than the one used in 2019's "KNIVES OUT".

"GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY" featured some very interesting characters, who almost struck me as borderline cartoonish. Mind you, I thought some of the characters managed to avoid this slight cartoonish taint - especially Benoit, Andi Brand, Claire Debella and Lionel Toussaint. But I found some of the other characters slightly exaggerated, yet at the same time, entertaining. Whether I found their characters exaggerated or not, I cannot deny that this movie featured some first-rate performances. I did not have an issue with one performance in this film. Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom, Jr., Kate Hudson, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline and Noah Segan all gave first-rate performances. The movie also featured entertaining cameos from the likes of Hugh Grant, Angela Landsbury, Ethan Hawke, Stephen Sondheim, Natasha Lyonne, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jake Tapper and Serena Williams. The movie even featured images of Jeremy Renner and Jared Leto on appear on bottles of hot sauce and kombucha. But there were performances that impressed just a bit more than others.

One of those performances came from Dave Baustista, who was not only surprisingly effective as the sexist Duke, but also managed to convey more layers behind what could have easily been a cartoonish character in the hands of a less talented actor. I realize many would find this hard to believe but I did find the Miles Bron character a bit exaggerated at times. But Edward Norton gave such a fabulous performance as the arrogant and self-involved Miles that his exaggeration almost seemed natural to me. Janelle Monáe managed to attract a great deal of positive reviews for her performance as "Andi" Brand. And I can see why. She gave a phenomenal performance as co-founder of Alpha, who seemed embittered by Miles' ouster of her, following her refusal to support his new alternative fuel, Klear. More importantly, Monáe did an excellent job in conveying her character's edgy and intense personality, which kept everyone else on edge . . . and wondering if she had changed. Not surprisingly, Daniel Craig gave a perfect performance in his second outing as the New Orleans-born private detective Benoit Blanc. Not only did he managed to tone down his Foghorn Leghorn routine from the first film, I found myself entertained by his conveyance of Blanc's reactions to the lunacy and shallowness of Miles and most of his fellow guests.

But as much as I had enjoyed the movie's narrative, I had a few issues. Once, since this movie was set in May 2020, were audiences really supposed to accept Miles' quickie COVID-19 cure as effective? Considering Blanc's opinion of the billionaire, I rather doubt it. I suspect that Blanc, Miles and the latter's guests were forced to monitor their health, following their departure from the island. When the party's first real victim dropped dead, I immediately knew the killer's identity. This aspect of "GLASS ONION" bore a strong resemblance to one or two of Agatha Christie's novels. Also, I had a problem with the movie's revelation scene after Blanc exposed the real killer. I wish I could go into details about why I found the writing for that scene very contrived, but I do not want to spoil the movie. Oh well. At least I was impressed by Bob Ducsay's editing, especially in the film's revelation scene; and Steve Yedlin's colorful photography of the Greek locations, especially in the movie's first twenty minutes or so.

Despite my few issues regarding "GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY", I must admit that I still managed to enjoy it very much. The film benefited from Rian Johnson's screenplay and direction, along with first-rate performances from a cast led by Daniel Craig. Like I said, I enjoyed the movie very much. But I still believe "KNIVES OUT" was the superior film.

"GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY" (2022) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY", the 2022 sequel to the 2019 mystery film. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the movie starred Daniel Craig:




"GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY" (2022) Photo Gallery

"THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" (2014) Review

"THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" (2014) Review

I have never been a major fan of Wes Anderson's films in the past. Well . . . I take that back. I have never been a fan of his films, with the exception of one - namely 2007's "THE DARJEELING LIMITED". Perhaps my inability to appreciate most of Anderson's films was due to my inability to understand his sense of humor . . . or cinematic style. Who knows? However, after viewing "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL", the number of Anderson films of which I became a fan, rose to two. 

Written and directed by Anderson, "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" is about the adventures of one Gustave H., a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka during the early 1930s; and his most trusted friend, a lobby boy named Zero Moustafa. Narrated from a much older Zero, the movie, which was inspired by the writings of Austrian author Stefan Zweig, begins in the present day in which a teenage girl stares at a monument inside a cemetery, who holds a memoir in her arms, written by a character known as "The Author". The book narrates a tale in which "the Author" as a younger man visited the Grand Budapest Hotel in 1968 Zubrowka. There, he met the hotel's elderly owner, Zero Moustafa, who eventually tells him how he took ownership of the hotel and why he is unwilling to close it down.

The story shifts to 1932, in which a much younger Zero was one of the hotel's lobby boys, freshly arrived in Zubrowka as a war refugee. Zero becomes acquainted with Monsieur Gustave H., who is a celebrated concierge known for sexually pleasing some of the hotel's wealthy guests - namely those who are elderly and romantically desperate. One of Gustave's guests is the very wealthy Madame Céline Villeneuve "Madame D" Desgoffe und Taxis. Although Zubrowka is on the verge of war, Gustave becomes more concerned with news that "Madame D" has suddenly died. He and Zero travels across the country to attend her wake and the reading of her will. During the latter, Gustave learns that "Madame D" has bequeathed to him a very valuable painting called "Boy with Apple". This enrages her family, all of whom hoped to inherit it. Not long after Gustave and Zero's return to the Grand Budapest Hotel, the former is arrested and imprisoned for the murder of the elderly woman, who had died of strychnine poisoning. Gustave and Zero team up to help the former escape from prison and learn who had framed him for murder.

"THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" not only proved to be very popular with critics, the film also earned four Golden Globe nominations and won one award - Best Film: Musical or Comedy. It also earned nine Academy Awards and won four. Not bad for a comedy about a mid-European concierge in the early 1930s. Did the movie deserved its accolades? In spades. It is the only other Wes Anderson movie I have ever developed a real love for. In fact, I think I enjoyed it even more than "THE DARJEELING LIMITED". When I first heard about the movie, I did not want to see it. I did not even want to give it a chance. Thank God I did. The movie not only proved to be my favorite Anderson film, it also became one of my favorite 2014 flicks.

Is "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" perfect? For a while, I found myself hard pressed to think of anything about this movie that may have rubbed me the wrong way. I realized there was one thing with which I had a problem - namely the way this movie began. Was it really necessary to star the movie with a young girl staring at a statue of "the Author", while holding his book? Was it really necessary to have "the Older Author" begin the movie's narration, before he is replaced by his younger self and the older Zero Moustafa? I realized what Anderson was trying to say. He wanted to convey to movie audiences that M. Gustave and Zero's story will continue on through the Author's book and they will never be forgotten. But I cannot help but wonder if Anderson could have conveyed his message without this gimmicky prologue.

"THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" may not be perfect. But I would certainly never describe it as a mediocre or even moderately good film. This movie deserved the Academy Award nominations and wins it earned . . . and many more. It was such a joy to watch it that not even its angst-filled moments could dampen my feelings. Anderson did a superb job of conveying his usual mixture of high comedy, pathos and quixotic touches in this film. Now, one might point out this is the director's usual style, which makes it nothing new. I would agree, except . . . I believe that Anderson's usual style perfectly blended with the movie's 1930s Central European setting. For me, watching "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL"seemed like watching an Ernst Lubitsch movie . . . only with profanity and a bit of sexual situations and nudity.

I have only watched a handful of Lubitsch's movies and cannot recall any real violence or political situations featured in any of his plots. Wait . . . I take that back. His 1942 movie, "TO BE OR NOT TO BE" featured strong hints of violence, war and a touch of infidelity. However, I believe Anderson went a little further in his own depictions of war, violence and sex. But this did not harm the movie one bit. After all, "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" was released in the early 21st century. Sex and violence is nothing new in today's films . . . even in highly acclaimed ones. Despite the presence of both in the film, Anderson still managed to infuse a great deal of wit and style into his plot. This was especially apparent in two sequences - Zero's initial description of M. Gustave and the Grand Budapest Hotel; and that marvelous sequence in which a fraternal order of Europe's hotel concierges known as the Society of the Crossed Keys helped Gustave and Zero evade the police and find the one person who can who can clear Gustave's name and help him retrieve his legacy from "Madame D". I especially enjoyed the last sequence. In my eyes, Lubitsch could not have done it any better.

There were other aspects of "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" that enhanced its setting. First of all, I have to give kudos to Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock for their work on the movie. Stockhausen, who also served as the production designer for the Oscar winning film, "12 YEARS A SLAVE", did a superb job of reflecting the movie's two major time periods - Central Europe in the early 1930s and the late 1960s. Pinnock served as the film's set decorator. Both Stockhausen and Pinnock shared the Academy Award for Best Production Design. Milena Canonero won an Oscar for the film's costume designs. I have to admit that she deserved. I feel she deserved it, because she did an excellent job of creating costumes not only for the characters, but also their class positions and the movie's settings. She did not simply resort to re-creating the fashion glamour of the 1930s for the sake of eye candy. Robert Yeoman's photography for the movie really impressed me. I found it sharp and very atmospheric for the movie's setting. I can see why he managed to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography.

I was shocked when I learned that Ralph Fiennes failed to get an Academy Award nomination for his performance as M. Gustave. What on earth was the Academy thinking? I can think of at least two actor who were nominated for Best Actor for 2014, who could have been passed over. Gustave is Fiennes' masterpiece, as far as I am concerned. I never realized he had such a spot-on talent for comedy. And although his Gustave is one of the funniest characters I have seen in recent years, I was also impressed by the touch of pathos he added to the role. Another actor, who I also believe deserved an Oscar nomination was Tony Revolori. Where on earth did Anderson find this kid? Oh yes . . . Southern California. Well . . . Revolori was also superb as the young Zero, who not only proved to be a very devoted employee and friend to M. Gustave, but also a very pragmatic young man. Like Fiennes, Revolori had both an excellent touch for both comedy and pathos. Also, both he and Fiennes proved to have great screen chemistry.

Revolori also shared a solid screen chemistry with actress Saoirse Ronan, who portrayed Zero's lady love, pastry chef Agatha. Ronan's charming performance made it perfectly clear why Zero and even M. Gustave found Agatha's sharp-tongue pragmatism very alluring. Another charming performance came from Tilda Swinton, who portrayed one of Gustave's elderly lovers. It seemed a shamed that Swinton's appearance was short-lived. I found her portrayal of the wealthy, yet insecure and desperate Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis rather interesting. Adrien Brody gave an interesting performance as Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis, Madame Villeneuve's son. I have never seen Brody portray a villain before. But I must say that I was impressed by the way he effectively portrayed Dmitri as a privileged thug. Willem Dafoe was equally interesting as Dmitri's cold-blooded assassin, J.G. Jopling. And Edward Norton struck me as both funny and scary as The movie also featured first-rate performances from Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Mathieu Amalric, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Owen Wilson, Fisher Stevens, Bob Balaban and especially Bill Murray as Monsieur Ivan, Gustave's main contact with the Society of the Crossed Keys. The movie had three narrators - Tom Wilkinson as the Older Author, Jude Law as the Younger Author and F. Murray Abraham as the Older Zero. All three did great jobs, but I noticed that Wilkinson's time as narrator was very short-lived.

What else can I say about "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL"? It is one of the few movies in which its setting truly blended with Wes Anderson's off-kilter humorous style. The movie not only benefited from great artistry from the crew and superb performances from a cast led by Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori, but also from the creative pen and great direction from Wes Anderson. Now, I am inspired to try my luck with some of his other films again.

"THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" (2014) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Wes Anderson's latest film, "THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL". The movie starred Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori: 


"THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL" (2014) Photo Gallery