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The Illusionist Movie Review

The Illusionist is a 2010 French animated drama film directed by Sylvain Chomet. It’s another one of the director’s wonderful charmers.

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“Magicians aren’t real“

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Struggling to find work in France, an illusionist travels to London and Scotland. In Scotland, he meets and befriends Alice and their lives change forever as they embark on exciting adventures. The main illusionist character was obviously based upon Jacque Tati, especially the character that he played. I personally do not like his movies, so this movie being a drama instead of a comedy was perfect for me.

This project went through developmental hell with so many people helming it at various times, but the reception to it was also somewhat problematic as many questioned Chomet’s failure not to acknowledge the real-life daughter of Tati in the final credits when in reality the daughter character in this movie was clearly influenced by the real person.

With that being said, the movie is pretty good if you take out all of the drama and the preconceived notions about it. In my opinion, it is close to ‘The Triplets of Belleville’ in quality and maybe even belonging to the same ranks, though obviously this is an unpopular opinion. The two movies couldn’t be more different. Yes, they are idiosyncratic in the same way in terms of style, but this one is much more serious and deeper while the first one was lighter and more comedic.

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That showcases the great talents of Sylvain Chomet as a filmmaker and it’s a shame that he still has to make his next feature film. He is a terrific director and I hope to see more of him soon. Apart from his direction, the characterization is also pretty good despite the movie being mostly silent, which in itself was a great choice for this moody drama about a dying art of sorts.

It is very easy to feel for the protagonist as he just can’t make it in this new world of 1959 with all the rock and roll and new trends going on. The movie ends on such a downer note, but still a deep, incredibly poignant moment with the message itself about magicians being non-existent being very touching and tragic. The whole film plays out like that – it has its sweet, even optimistic overtones, but ultimately the filmmaker opted for a more realistic, honest take on a dying art and the consequences that will hit those in the respective business.

I also really liked Alice. She is very endearing and the relationship between the two is the heart of the movie. All of their scenes are among the best in the film. However, the pacing isn’t all that great and the movie is overly short and not that effective in some of the mid act stretches that were overly detailed and never as engaging as the first or third act were. Though I appreciated its simplicity to a degree, the movie ultimately needed more story, especially more dramatic plot points.

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The Illusionist is gorgeously animated per usual. Edinburgh here seems super inviting and beautiful to behold. The streets and the interiors are especially well crafted. The score is also quite moving. The film surely is a technical achievement that is bound to be enjoyed on a moody night.