Movie Review

The Prestige

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 28, 2006

Release Date: October 20, 2006

I didn’t want to let this film slip by me. I am a huge fan of Christian Bale and enjoy Hugh Jackman quite a bit. Toss in Michael Caine and for [censor]’s sake I am there! So I catch an afternoon showing of this flick, based off the 1995 novel by Chrisopher Priest, adapted by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan and directed by the latter.

The film follows a rivalry between two stage magicians, Angier (Jackman) and Borden (Bale). The two men start as chums, but an accident during a show sends them on divergent paths. But what fun would it be if their paths didn’t cross again? As time goes by, Angier makes a name for himself as the Great Danton. He’s a remarkable stage man and a decent magician, though heavily reliant on his charisma and the help of Cutter (Caine).

Borden makes an ok living for hismelf doing low level magic but building his show up and up. He eventually becomes an equal if not greater draw than Angier’s as The Professor, who has mastered “The Transported Man,” a marvelous trick in which Borden enters one closet only to emerge from another a half second later.

Angier’s must find out the secret and sends his lover, Olivia (Scarlett Johansson) to find out his secrets. Borden sends Angier on a chase to find famed scientist Nikolai Tesla to discover the secret of “The Transported Man.” I’m going to stop talking plot now, because this whole movie is about watching closely, as you’re told to do by Bale almost immediately.

To give away any more would be criminal. I can only say this - see this movie. When I first walked out I was thinking my head “it was good, but not all that great or anything.” However, since that time I have not been able to stop thinking about it. It’s infectious. There are so many details. So many parallels. So many tricks. Was I watching closely enough? Will you?

What we have here is an expertly crafted, well written and well directed film. Both Bale and Jackman perform wonderfully, and you know what let’s not forget Caine, he’s the man. Now Scarlett Johansson is hot. I agree. But she can not act an ounce. Sorry baby, we’ll do lunch and talk about it. Seriously, she is out of place in this movie. She’s not in it much, but what she’s in bothered me. She doesn’t have the chops to hang with Jackman and definitely not Bale, who I consider to be one of, if not the, finest actor working today.

The film is shot beautifully and the sets are magnificent and overall it’s just a joy. A complex joy. To be quick to judge. Normally, I am. I can usually judge a movie by my initial reaction. Not this one. It’s grown in me. I want to see it again. I need to know the secrets. Ironic then, that one of the themes of the film is obsession with discovering another’s secrets.

With a movie about magicians you clearly know there is a twist ending coming. It will either leave you high or leave you dry, but again, don’t rush your judgment. Sit back. Think about it. Think about how this relates to everything you just saw. Ahh there it is. Enlightenment.

The Upside: Terrific acting, a good story, great look to the film, and a complex, skillfully woven story.

The Downside: The ending will either seal the deal or put doubt in your mind. Scarlett Johansson stumbles through her scenes like a drunk elephant.

On the Side: The term “prestige,” in the film meaning “the final act of a magic trick” is a term made up by author Christopher Priest in his 1995 book, based on the word prestidigitation, meaning “sleight of hand” (literally: quick fingers).

Yours (or am I?) in illusion,

Robert “The Professor” Fure

Final Grade: A-