The film begins in medias res as Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) recounts the history of Eisenheim for Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), following Uhl’s visit to the theatre to arrest Eisenheim during what appears to be necromancy passed off as a magic show.
Eisenheim was born the son of a cabinetmaker (Andreas Grothusen) in Austria-Hungary. One day when he was a teenager, Eisenheim (played as young man by Aaron Johnson) meets a traveling magician (David Forest) along a road. The magician performs several tricks for him and then, according to various accounts, both the magician and the tree he was sitting under vanish. Eisenheim becomes obsessed with magic tricks after this.He also falls in love with Sophie, the Duchess von Teschen (Biel, played as a young lady by Eleanor Tomlinson ), a noblewoman well above his social class; her parents have hired Eisenheim’s father as a cabinetmaker. Young Eisenheim makes Young Sophie a unique marquetry puzzle locket, which if twisted correctly reveals a small, hidden photograph of Eisenheim. Although the two are forbidden to see each other, they meet in a secret hideout chamber in the woods, where Eisenheim tells of his plans to go to China to learn more magic and Sophie promises to go with him. On the day that they are going to leave, however, the police come looking for Sophie. The two hide in the secret room and Sophie begs Eisenheim to make them both disappear. He is unable to fulfill this request and the two are separated.
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