"Illusion": In a darkened theater, life flickers
Michael Goorjian's gentle drama "Illusion" stars Kirk Douglas as an elderly man on his deathbed, looking back at a life spent working in the movies. It's an appropriate bit of casting, and it's one of the movie's pleasures to see Douglas again. Now in his late 80s, his voice slurred from a stroke suffered a decade ago, Douglas strives mightily to bring life to Donald Baines, a legendary film director dying alone in his elegant screening room.
And he almost succeeds in bringing life to the film, a well-meaning but uneven story reminiscent of "A Christmas Carol." Donald is visited one night by Stan, his favorite editor, who died 30 years ago. Stan takes Donald to a magical theater — a lovely, art deco palace with dusty light — and shows him three versions of the life of the illegitimate son Donald rejected long ago.
The son, Christopher (Goorjian), has led a troubled life, but a thread within it has been his love for a beautiful woman named Isabelle (Karen Tucker). The third reel ends with Christopher facing a tragic fate — but there may just be time for Donald to intervene.
"Illusion," with Kirk Douglas, Michael Goorjian, Karen Tucker, Ron Marasco, Richmond Arquette, Ted Raimi. Directed by Goorjian, from a screenplay by Goorjian, Marasco, Tressa Di Figlia Brendon and Chris Horvath. 106 minutes. Rated PG-13 for some violence. Meridian, Lincoln Square.
There's a sincerity to the filmmaking here that's at times quite touching: "Illusion" presents a portrait of true love that's as picture perfect as the sunny spring garden in which we see Isabelle. And Donald, from his bed, has plenty to say about love. He points to a picture of Romeo and Juliet, separated by a balcony. "Romance," he says, "is found in the space between two people." To create romance — by which he means a romantic movie — you need to separate the people, in order to create that space for them to bridge. And "Illusion" does so, creating an effectively moving final act.
But the film suffers from not enough attention to the details: Some of the smaller roles are woodenly performed; much of the dialogue is self-conscious and ridden with coincidence. Perhaps there were a few too many hands on the screenplay (four writers are credited, including Goorjian); perhaps the film is all too aware of the similarly themed — and better — movies that came before it. (The press materials openly compare it to "It's a Wonderful Life," "Heaven Can Wait" and "Big Fish" — unfair competition for any film.)
Despite its flaws, "Illusion" is enjoyable as a quiet ode to the magic of cinema; to the way that movies can lift our spirits and inspire us. "When you're feeling like all is lost," Stan tells Donald, "you go to the movies." You could do far worse than choosing this one.
Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com