A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: The Illusionist

Date Viewed: 2/18/11

Details:

Voice talent: Jean-Claude Donda (The Illusionist)

Eilidh Rankin (Alice)

Director & adaptor: Sylvain Chomet

Original screenplay: Jacques Tati

Score: 0

The Review: So very French.

In preparation, I should have re-read my review ofThe Triplets of Belleville-- because The Illusionist, sharing as it does a director, would likely also share its animated sensibility and style. As it did. But for all the attractions & curiosity of the animation style ofTriplets,it was nonetheless an odd film. And for all the more mundane aspects of the animation found here, Illusionist too is an odd film, but more an oddity of character. The caricature of Scotland -- both the back-country of Mull and the back-streets of Edinburgh -- is well-done, occasionally funny, interesting and entertaining. It is not so much a background or setting, as a character in its own right. Along with the rain.

Unlike Triplets,the plot can easily be summarized: a down-on-his-luck stage magician abandons Paris for London, only to continue his downward slide in (dismal) competition with the rising attraction of rock-'n-roll groups. For this is 1959 -- as we are reminded sporadically throughout by background events: rural electrification, the novelty of television, Nixon & Khrushchev. He eventually takes a gig in a remote Scottish site (unnamed, but considering the port of departure and topography, it's most likely Mull or Morvern), and soon departs for Edinburgh -- with someone in tow, so to speak. Essentially a character study, it works quite well even with a near absence of dialog (yet another thing in common withTriplets).Yes, there is sound, but the mumbles of language are generally unnecessary and turn into an easily ignored background hum.

Personally, I found the main character difficult -- joyless, stodgy, unsympathetic, uncomprehending of the gift offered. So I was not predisposed to come out raving -- except, perhaps, raving at his approach to life. And I do not share the fascination with circus or vaudeville performers that seems to infiltrate these films.

Standard cel-based animation, with one (possibly two) exceptions. First, there was a curious cameo appearance by a film -- in homage to Tati, a scene fromMon Oncle,just then released in 1958 -- a jolting overlay of video into animation. Then there is the scene near the summit of Arthur's Seat (I won't explain why, but it is an important moment), which ends with a whirl of almost-3D technique and what looked like a complicated, computer-generated, spiraling aerial establishing shot that made my jaw drop.

(18-Feb-11)

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