RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Illusion
Illusion

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Showtimes & Tickets
  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Illusion (2004)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
36 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:11

Fresh:4

Rotten:7

Average Rating:4.9/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Feb 17, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: A legendary film director is shown three visions of the life of the son he never knew. As he lies dying, he is given one last chance to affect his son's life. Legendary film director DONALD... A legendary film director is shown three visions of the life of the son he never knew. As he lies dying, he is given one last chance to affect his son's life. Legendary film director DONALD BAINES lies dying alone in his private screening room, watching the films he has devoted his life to creating. Having isolated himself from family and friends, he now regrets many personal sacrifices. The rejection of his illegitimate child, CHRISTOPHER, brings him the most pain. Having seen him only once 30 years ago. Late one night, Donald is awakened by the ghostly image of STAN, a favorite editor who has been dead more than 35 years. Suddenly Donald finds his deathbed transported to an old movie house. Stan informs Donald that he has come to help and that he will show him three films - three visions - each vision representing a different period of Christopher's life. The first vision brings Donald into the teenage life of Christopher who is in the thoes of his first blush with love. A rebel and a romantic, Christopher proclaims is love for a girl he has only seen from afar and chances it all for an opportunity to spend some time with her. A nagging voice, which sounds like the father he never knew echoes in his head tells him he is not worthy. A wild romp marks the second vision of the 20s-something life of Christopher as he tries to escape an artistic maelstrom and finds himself face to face with the love he had for a brief moment and lost from the first vision. His life takes a brutal twist as he finds and yet again he is torn from his love. The last vision Donald sees is the return of Christopher now as a mature man, wearied from the difficult curveballs life has thrown him. Again looking for love, this is his last chance and perhaps his only chance to rid himself of what he imagines to be his father's haunting disapproval. Donald Baines is also given an opportunity to make a difference… but after such a long time can he take the leap or was it all just an Illusion? --© Official Site [More]

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Michael A. Goorjian, Bryan Cranston, Richmond Arquette

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Michael A. Goorjian, Bryan Cranston, Richmond Arquette, Ted Raimi, Kevin Weisman, Ron Marasco

Director: Michael A. Goorjian

Director: Michael A. Goorjian

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Illusion

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 12 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

No doubt the director worked with what he could get, and was extremely fortunate that he could get an icon of the screen to bless his project.

Full Review Source: New Times | comment Comment
03/16/06
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

One of the worst dramas I have ever seen. In fact, this movie is so dramatically inept that I wanted to tear my eyeballs out.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
03/08/06
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Unavoidably, there are some sugary moments and clichés such as rain-soaked kisses and outlandish "artistic" stage performances, but [Illusion] keeps hold of that just-another-day-in-Hollywood feeling.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
02/26/06
Rory L. Aronsky
Rory L. Aronsky
Film Threat
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
02/25/06
Boxoffice Magazine

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.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
02/24/06
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Several of its transitions are glaringly contrived, and its morality tale never quite comes together to be the shattering spiritual experience it wants to be.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
02/23/06
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's a joy to see Kirk Douglas on screen again. That's not quite enough to make this...recommendable, but it's a reason you might want to take a look at it despite the flaws.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
02/21/06
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Douglas does his best acting while watching and reacting to what he sees on screen. If this ends up being his cinematic swan song, it will not have been a bad way to go.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
02/17/06
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Filmmaking at its most sappy.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/17/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The unabashed melodrama of the flashbacks and present-day climax can't compete with the theatrical oomph provided by Douglas and Marasco...at the picture's spine.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
02/17/06
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Ironically, for a movie about the film business, Illusion is shot on grungy video and looks terrible.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
02/16/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

You don't want to miss this little gem of a film.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/10/06
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
 
 
1 - 12 (sorted by date)
Text View
See All

More Movies

Close
Coming Soon
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

More…

— Before Tomorrow 12/2
— Film Ist: A Girl & A Gun 12/2
— Armored 12/4
— Transylmania 12/4
— Brothers 12/4
See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Box Office

Box Office

New Moon #1, breaks TDK records

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

Learn to train like a ninja in this clip!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
9
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
106
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
162
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
53
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
38
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
13
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
3
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
3
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
17
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Illusion at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Illusion at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.