Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Jan 17, 2026

[Paul Giamatti]'s twinkling eyes and theatrical smiles offering everything from cagey mistrust to professional appreciation (often at the same time) gives him the flamboyance the film’s magic act never quite manages.

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David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Feb 14, 2021

The Illusionist is an attractively done piece of work, that leaves a relatively small impression.

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Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Sep 11, 2020 3.5/4.0

The Illusionist is a deceptively simple yet magical cinematic experience.

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Kathi Maio The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Feb 28, 2020

The legerdemain of The Illusionist is done with more finesse...it is that feeling of elation that makes it magic.

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Micheal Compton Bowling Green Daily News Nov 20, 2019 B

I've always been a fan of Norton and he again delivers a very good performance. Sewell is pretty good as the adversary and Paul Giamatti has a nice role as an inspector trying to uncover Eisenheim's secrets.

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Jun 29, 2019 2.5/4

For a good while, The Illusionist is topflight entertainment, but viewers who can't anticipate the big twist should dig out those old Encyclopedia Brown paperbacks and begin rebuilding their sleuthing skills from there.

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Ellie Lucas The Dispatch (Lexington, NC) Jun 6, 2019 3.5/4

A magical and engrossing experience where nothing is ever what it seems.

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Annie Wagner The Stranger (Seattle, WA) Mar 1, 2018

I can assure you, with all confidence, that the movie is dumb. Really, really, dumb.

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Deborah Ross The Spectator Jan 30, 2018

So, in short? Well, the scenery is very pleasant and this film would kill a couple of hours on a plane. But I don't think I'd advise schlepping to the cinema rather than, say, staying at home for a nap then a bit of cheese.

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Nell Minow Movie Mom Feb 18, 2012 B

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Marty Mapes Movie Habit May 15, 2011

A fond animated farewell to Jacques Tati

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Joshua Starnes ComingSoon.net Mar 27, 2011 7/10

If nothing else, The Illusionist is worth watching solely for Giamatti's Oscar-caliber performance.

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James Plath Movie Metropolis Jul 24, 2010 8/10

A wonderful period film first and secondarily an interesting mystery-romance that keeps you guessing about the big questions until late in the narrative.

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Brett Michel Boston Phoenix Jul 7, 2010 2/4

Norton and Paul Giamatti perform wonders, but writer/director Neil Burger ruins the magic, exposing all of his story's tricks by the end.

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Gary Dowell Baltimore City Paper Jan 22, 2010

Unabashedly old-fashioned and fantastically pulpy.

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Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Aug 30, 2009

Straddles fascination and irritation

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Steve Biodrowski Cinefantastique Jun 17, 2009

Director Neil Burger effectively evokes a sense of mystery and magic, but the plot grinds too methodically to match the dazzle of the title character's on-stage illusions.

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Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed Apr 29, 2009 3.5/4

An immaculate and utterly gorgeous murder mystery with the trifecta of wonderful direction, great acting, and a plot that twists and turns at every such occasion.

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Bob Mondello NPR.org Oct 18, 2008

The line between truth and illusion is blurred so persuasively that for a moment or two, you may even believe that a romantic costume drama could stand up to all those special-effects blockbusters in the dog days of summer.

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Stuart McGurk thelondonpaper Mar 30, 2007 2/5

Just as two Truman Capote biopics came in subsequent Oscar seasons, so two period films about stage magicians appear with only winter to separate them. And, frankly, The Illusionist has missed a trick.

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