2008 Woodie Awards
Illusions, trickery prominent in 'Prestige'
movie review
Carl DeNovio
Issue date: 11/10/06 Section: Life
Originally published: 11/9/06 at 6:09 PM EST
Last update: 11/9/06 at 6:09 PM EST
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Christopher Nolan, director of such films as "Batman Begins", and "Memento", proves once again that he is one of the best at what he does with "The Prestige". Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson, the film will take you on a journey into the relatively straightforward world of 19th century stage performing. It will throw you for a loop as the almost unfairly intricate plot begins to unwind and reveal just small pieces at a time, which will all eventually come together in the movie's shocking closing moments.
Rival magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden (Jackman and Bale) work to one-up each other and drive the quality of their performances to levels rarely seen in today's world of cookie-cutter cinema.
Anybody who is familiar with Nolan's 2001 film "Memento" will immediately recognize "The Prestige" as something that meets more than the eye.
To tell any more than that, though, would be an injustice to a film which works hard to make sure the twists and turns it takes will shock even the most hard-to-fool viewer.
The basic plot is simple. Angier and Borden are stage magicians in turn-of-the-century London and good friends who share a passion for showmanship and trickery.
After an unfortunate accident, they are torn apart and become bitter rivals.
When Borden unveils his masterpiece illusion, Angier becomes obsessed with trying to figure out how he did it, finding only one logical solution. It wasn't a trick, there was no illusion. It was real.
The one thing about this movie that makes it lose points is the fact that at several moments during the opening scenes, it can be difficult to know exactly what is happening. The film jumps between different times in the characters' lives, and when the jumping begins, it can be difficult to follow exactly what order things are happening in. While some might argue that this is an intentional mislead, it seems more likely that it is just a failure of narration. The first 40 minutes, give or take, are rather slow and do not seem to do much to further the story beyond what we are told in the opening scenes - that Angier has been murdered and Borden is a prime suspect and likely the killer.
Rival magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden (Jackman and Bale) work to one-up each other and drive the quality of their performances to levels rarely seen in today's world of cookie-cutter cinema.
Anybody who is familiar with Nolan's 2001 film "Memento" will immediately recognize "The Prestige" as something that meets more than the eye.
To tell any more than that, though, would be an injustice to a film which works hard to make sure the twists and turns it takes will shock even the most hard-to-fool viewer.
The basic plot is simple. Angier and Borden are stage magicians in turn-of-the-century London and good friends who share a passion for showmanship and trickery.
After an unfortunate accident, they are torn apart and become bitter rivals.
When Borden unveils his masterpiece illusion, Angier becomes obsessed with trying to figure out how he did it, finding only one logical solution. It wasn't a trick, there was no illusion. It was real.
The one thing about this movie that makes it lose points is the fact that at several moments during the opening scenes, it can be difficult to know exactly what is happening. The film jumps between different times in the characters' lives, and when the jumping begins, it can be difficult to follow exactly what order things are happening in. While some might argue that this is an intentional mislead, it seems more likely that it is just a failure of narration. The first 40 minutes, give or take, are rather slow and do not seem to do much to further the story beyond what we are told in the opening scenes - that Angier has been murdered and Borden is a prime suspect and likely the killer.
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