Why everyone has it wrong. Whole movie explained.... *Spoilers*
I was reading the forums and I decided to address many questions most other reviewers had posted, regarding specific scenes in the movie. Everything can be easily explained by a plot device :- The Unreliable Narrator.
You have to remember, the whole movie is told from the perspective of the Chief of Police. He is the narrator, and he guides us through the events as they unfolded SEEN THROUGH HIS EYES. So the whole movie, in effect is an illusion, as it offers a distortion of true facts.
Many have questioned how the inspector could not have known Sophie was not really dead, when he had checked her pulse/held her hand
Ans:- The Unreliable Narrator exaggerated the apparent death-like state of Sophie, in order to cover up his own incompetence. She was not really dead, and she did not really have a dead pulse, HE SAW IT that way.
Similarly, a lot of people question how the final illusion was faked (the disappearance of Edward Norton's character from the stage in front of an audience).
Ans:- The Unreliable Narrator exaggerated the effectiveness of the illusion. It is his version of how he 'disappeared into thin air'. We might never really know how Edward Norton's character actually escaped.
Similarly, the effectiveness of other illusions might also be exaggerated. The whole back story of Eisenheim and Sophie is also probably false.
Maybe Sophie really did get killed, and the whole movie might even be an elaborate revenge plot by Eisenheim.
In the end, a great movie overall. This is my viewpoint, what do you think?