What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that the film includes some mysterious behaviors and effects, so the magic tricks and ghostly apparitions look convincing (via digital help). The prince abuses his fiancée verbally and physically. She appears to be stabbed, her neck and torso bloodied; her body is discovered floating in a river. She later appears as a ghost (among other ghosts) for a magician's show, frightening and awing the audience. Characters wield swords and the men threaten one another with violence, leading to a fight at film's end. One sex scene emphasizes the passion of the moment, without explicit nakedness. One character uses the f-word.
- Families can talk about the appeal of magic shows and tricks: Why do the tricks fascinate us? How is it fun to try to figure out the deception (as the prince and the detective try to do)? How does the prince's presumption of his power make him seem selfish and greedy? How does the detective frame the story as an investigation, with his limited knowledge of events and motives?