"do you really want to be with me?"

the illusionist. this viewing was one of my now rare trips to the movies alone to simply enjoy being in a darkened theatre. sigh. i hate to admit it but i picked this primarily because it was playing at a convenient time. i had heard of it but very little. all in all, i was pleased. edward norton plays an illusionist in 19th century austria. rufus sewell is disturbing (isn't he always?) as the crown prince and paul giamatti (sp?) is the head of police torn between (aren't they always?) right and wrong. there is an elaborate, entertaining, though not completely surprising, situation between the illusionist, his long lost love (the 'duchess' played by a busty, blushing jessica biel) who also happens to be the fiance of the crown prince. i'm pretty sure i saw this story before in a different movie but the name escapes me. pun intended. there are the requisite garbled accents but there's decent acting and the illusionist's, well, illusions, are sometimes wondrous. it won't make your attention disappear completely but apparently my wit has. b.