Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

The Illusionist | 2006 | PG-13 | - 5.6.0

Edward Norton stars as a magician performing in Vienna with great success, during the final years of the 19th century. When the Crown Prince (Rufus Sewell) attends one of his performances, his fiancée (Jessica Biel) joins the magician onstage as a volunteer, and she and the magician realize that they've known each other from their childhood. Swept up in a rekindled love affair that if discovered may lead to their doom, the magician's ability to create illusions may be the only thing that will save them. Also with Paul Giamatti, and Eddie Marsan. Directed by Neil Burger. [1:50]

SEX/NUDITY 5 - A man and a woman kiss passionately, they begin to undress each other, they lie on a bed and have sex (we see flesh tones and movement with no discernable detail visible) and they lie together in bed afterward (we see bare shoulders).
 Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes.
 A man and a woman kiss in a few scenes, a boy and a girl kiss.
 A man asks about whether the woman he intends to marry was "touching, kissing or fornicating" with another man. We hear that a man and a woman plan to marry.

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - A man shoots himself in the head (we see blood splatter and we see a bloody wound on his temple). A woman's body floats motionless in water (there is a large wound on her throat and her skin is tinged blue) and we hear that she bled to death.
 A man chases a woman out of a house, he yells at her, we hear him draw his sword, we hear the woman groan, and the woman rides away slumped over on her horse.
 A woman stands on a stage facing a mirror, in the mirror we see another image of the same woman standing behind her with a sword, and the image swings the sword toward the woman and appears to slash her.
 A man slaps a woman in the face.
 A boy and a girl hiding in a forest are found by guards, separated and taken away forcefully (the boy is thrown on the ground and threatened). A man with a gun threatens another man.
 We see a horse with a bloody stain on its back (where a rider had been). A man shoots a deer (we hear the gun shot and see the carcass being carried away).
 A man is arrested by guards, and a crowd watching him perform before the arrest pushes toward the stage angrily. A man is thrown out of a theater and onto the street. Police surround a theater to prevent a man from escaping.
 People stand in a street looking frightened and alarmed and they say that a ghost has run out of a theater and through the street. A man on stage disappears (he fades into particles and then disappears). A man performs magical illusions including bringing spirits of dead people back from the dead.
 A man is given an injection in the back of the hand. A man on stage perspires and quivers during a performance. A man steps into a street and is nearly hit by a horse drawn carriage.
 A man yells at a woman, and a man yells at a man.
 We hear that a man likes to beat women and that he pushed one woman off a balcony (killing her) to cover the bruises she suffered from a beating. A man makes a remark about another man having "sold his soul to the devil."

LANGUAGE 0 - Name-calling.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man and a woman drink alcohol. People are shown smoking cigarettes and pipes and drinking alcohol, a man smokes a cigarette, and a man smokes a pipe. A man is given an injection in the back of his hand (it is unclear what it is).

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Magic, love, supernatural powers, class distinctions, forces of the universe, power, mortality, morality, greed, jealousy, grief, betrayal, death of a loved one, infidelity, skill, destiny, divine right to rule, mysteries, manipulation of time, the soul, death.

MESSAGE - Love and power can drive people to extremes.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This