(USA, 115 min.)
Dir. Louis Letterier, Writ. Ed Solomon and Boaz Yakin & Edward
Rincourt
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Mélanie
Laurent, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine.
 |
| Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson in Now You See Me Courtesy of eOne Films |
Abracadabra! There’s something magical about going to the
movies. Whether it’s the sheer entertainment value of the cinema or the thrill
of diversion, the smoke and mirrors of moviemaking is great entertainment. I’ve
never been one for literal magic—I’ll take the conjuring act of Meryl Streep
any day—so it’s a pleasant surprise that Now
You See Me pulls a rabbit out of its hat and brings the two art forms together to offer entertainment with a top hat.
The magicians in Now
You See Me perform one dazzling act after another that will have viewers
believing in magic from the very first scene. The film begins with an
introduction to each of the magicians who will later assemble and perform as
The Four Horsemen. Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) gets the first number, which seems
like a standard trick of the “pick a card, any card” variety. The ruse of the
trick is that the girl choosing the card is actually the first bit of
misdirection in Now You See Me, for the person picking the card is, in
fact, you. Following the film, both my moving-going companion and I both stated
that we “selected” the same card in the deck before the girl chose it and it
became the object of a neat trick. How Now
You See Me performs this feat is a clincher: is it magic or Hollywood
gimmicks?
The Four Horsemen—Atlas, Merrit (Woody Harrelson), Henley
(Isla Fisher), and Jack (Dave Franco)—then perform an even greater trick once
they’ve assembled and devised a crafty routine. The grand finale of their big
show sees them rob a bank in Paris without ever leaving their Las Vegas stage. It’s a
clever ruse that wins over the audience to the tune of 3.2 million Euros.
The magic act looks especially strange for those who weren’t
there to see it. The investigation, picked up by FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Marc
Ruffalo) and Interpol Agent Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent), requires an odd angle of
approach to see clearly. Money was stolen, but the alleged thieves never left
the room. Was it a crime, a hoax, or real magic?
The odd couple of Agent Rhodes and Agent Dray must therefore
follow the Four Horsemen to their next show and see what trick they perform
under the watchful eye of their wealthy financier (Michael Caine). With the
help of a professional debunker of onstage sorcery (Morgan Freeman), the agents
must carefully observe the Horsemen like enrapt audience members looking to
spot a charlatan by seeing how he’s pulling the strings. The magic of The Horsemen's act might have been doubly impressive had director Louis Letterier let them unfurl in unbroken long takes—we're reminded of Hollywood magic each time there's a cut—but few of the elaborate stagings rely on CGI effects. (If they do they're mostly invisible.) Instead, we're placed between the performers and the audience, straddling the stage while watching the performance and eavesdropping on the onlookers wondering how it's all being done.
Now You See Me is
a surprising caper. It’s a heist movie structured akin to an elaborate magic
act, which is full of misdirection and holds plenty of cards up its sleeve.
Charismatic performances, fancy set pieces, and convoluted mental machinery
build Now You See Me to a grand
finale: Now You See Me has a doozy of
a twist that you’ll never see coming.
The film moves at a rapid pace so that one can never really
stop to second-guess what’s playing out on screen. Watching Now You See Me on the big screen, much
like watching an onstage performer saw his sexy aid in half, requires a willing
suspension of disbelief and a desire to see magic play itself out with success.
(The trick wouldn’t be as entertaining if the magician’s aid died onstage,
right?) Going along with the outrageous and highly improbable tricks of The
Four Horsemen is the great thrill of Now
You See Me—and it’s often more believable than the clumsy investigation
into their conjuring ways.
Movies and magic hold much in common, though, beyond
escapism, excitement, and visual pizzazz. They are both amply more rewarding
when they withhold the process of their enchantment. Wondering how they pulled
it off is half the fun. Watching a movie is rarely the same after one takes in the
behind-the-scenes footage and sees how the filmmakers made it all work. It’s
hard to look at the same film again without seeing the machinery instead of the
art. Similarly, Now You See Me
overplays its hand by revealing too much to the audience. Every trick of The
Horsemen’s charade is explained in great detail. A magic act is an astounding feat
in one scene and then a chunk of Christopher Nolan-y blunt dialogue in the
next. Instead of being left to simmer in the wonder of the magic, we’re left
with something disposable that makes less sense once it’s explained.
Nevertheless, it’s fun watching The Horsemen execute
increasingly impressive tricks for the two hours in which they invite us to
join their caper. Offering something between a film and a live performance, Now You See Me is escapism at its best.
That’s the real magic of movies, isn’t it?
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Now You See Me opens
in wide release May 31st.
