The Prestige
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Andy Serkis, and David Bowie.
Backstory
Christopher Nolan is one of those directors that everyone tells me about. And I really do mean to see Memento someday, honest. But I didn’t get exposed to Nolan’s work until Batman Begins, which I loved. So, when I started reading up on Nolan’s next film…battling magicians in Victorian England…I went, “ooo”.
Plot
It’s Victorian England, and we focus on two aspiring young magicians, Robert Angeir (Wolver-I mean, Jackman) and Alfred Bordon (Batma-I mean, Bale). One day, an accident on stage leads to the death of the lovely assistant…who just happens to be Angeir’s wife. Angeir forever blames Bordon, and a deep-seeded rivalry develops between the two, leading them to periodically sabotage the other’s act. But then, Bordon comes up with an illusion called “The Transported Man,” which drives Angeir to obsession, as Angeir tries to figure it out. It’s an obsession that eventually leads Angeir to America…and that brilliant physicist/mad scientist Nikola Tesla. Then it starts getting a little science fictional…and murderous.
What I Liked
Well, I can’t say any more, because it’s got a great twist ending that I can’t give away. (It was a great twist ending to me, but my friend claims she figured it out halfway through.) It’s very mysterious, full of intrigues, and Johansson (as Angeir’s new lovely assistant) has one heck of a heaving bosom.
What I Didn’t Like
It does follow a Memento-ish non-linear plot, which can get kind of confusing if you’re not paying attention. And did I mention that Angeir and Bordon sabotage each other’s acts in a way that causes horrible mutilations to the volunteer from the audience? Yeah…it’s bloodier than I thought it’d be. And the sci-fi element that Tesla brings in felt a little out of place.
Final Assessment
It’s a taught little thriller that’ll make you go, “Whoa.” It’s a good time at the movies, as long as you just go with it.