Reviews: The Illusionist and Invincible

Watching The Illusionist and Invincible back to back is seeing how true it is that a good movie relies not on a good idea, but simply on good execution of whatever idea the movie may have. The first is an example of how poor execution ruins a good idea, while the second is a example of how good execution saves a poor (or rather, mundane) idea.

The Illusionist deals with the love story between a magician (played by Ed Norton) and a Dutchess (played by Jessica Biel). Rufus Sewell's acting talents are wasted as a simpleton villain/power-monger/prince/drunk/etc. Some of the plot points and ideas in this movie are really quite good. The movie reveals the parallels that can exist between simple magic tricks and what they reveal about the human condition. There are other plot points too that spring from very interesting ideas. The treatment of this movie must have been very interesting to read, and the short story that this movie is based on could be quite a joy to read. Unfortunately, the movie itself is not a joy to watch. The dialogue is sometimes a bit too stilted, resulting in cardboard cutout characters. For example, it's never properly explained why the dutchess would fall for Ed Norton. He can't be the only magician in the entire country! The editing is not always coherent, leading to a lack of clear direction with where the movie is going. The acting is at times ham-fisted, with characters going over-the-top in ways that seem a bit too caricatured. And overall the story simply doesn't flow very well, the narrative is just choppy. Unfortunately problems with all of these aspects of the film ultimately derail the movie and make what could have been a very interesting movie simply a rather lethargic and drab one, with a bit of sloppy editing at the very end that kills whatever momentum the movie had left.

Invincible on the other hand is exactly the opposite. At first glance the movie seems hardly interesting at all, a story about how one man overcame the odds and managed to succeed
on the gridiron sounds like something that's been done many times before. The cheesy montage sequences, the stirring words of encouragement from various friends, the darkest hour moment where the protagonist must face his inner demons and rise to the occasion, it can all be predicted before the movie even starts. And Invincible has all of that. The reason the movie works is because everything is expertly machined together to create a wonderful movie-watching experience. The script contains people who feel authentic, who say and do things that real people might. The actors pull off these lines with aplomb, helping sell the era, the environment, and ultimately the story. The movie is also edited quite well, mixing in equal parts family drama, romantic interest, underdog striving, and dedicated friendship like a well-oiled blender, producing quite a tasty treat to watch. Not too heavy, not too light.

The contrast between the two really emphasizes that it's not original ideas that make a movie enjoyable or memorable, it's the impeccable execution of ideas. The Illusionist had some very interesting ideas in it, but was unable to weave those ideas into a coherent story, whereas Invincible had a rather bland story whose deft delivery raised it to the level of a very enjoyable movie-going experience. Of course, the great movies occur when original ideas are mated to great execution. So far this year that has mostly been lacking, but Oscar season is almost upon us so we shall see.

One last interesting comparison between the two movies. Both movies had a very heavy amber/brown cast to them, a sort of sepia-like tone. I would assume that both did this in an attempt to make the time seem both older and classic at the same time. The Illusionist takes place sometime in the 1800's, while Invincible takes place in the 1970's. Both succeed in this regard (The Illusionist looked a little less well-photographed in this regard, but given the older print I assume that the print is more at fault for this than the DP). I guess sepia means old and classic.