Review of The Prestige (2006) by Stevenf — 28 Jan 2013

The Prestige is a simple example of what Christopher Nolan is capable of outside of his Batman universe.

It's brilliant, sometimes brutal, throughly thought-provoking but most of all, vastly entertaining.

We see two egotistical and **** amateur magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) attempting to make their way in 19th Century London.

Overseeing them is their mentor and stage engineer, John Cutter (Michael Caine), acting as a mentor and father to the aspiring masters.

Much like Memento, The Prestige is told in a completely non-linear fashion, while off-putting to some, Nolan used this technique to create a wonderfully emotional yet tragic story as to how these magicians started as friends, but became mortal enemies.

What is most intriguing about this story is one mans mission to outdo the other by any means necessary, and the others attempt at being too proud to reveal his desires or mistakes, some fatal.

We see quite a timeframe in this film also, chronicling the lives of these two individuals, with a superb performances from both lead actors, and great performances from Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall.

The two smaller roles in the film but well acted and significant are that of David Bowie and Andy Serkis.

Bowie plays Nikolay Tesla, an inventor, he possesses a very vague but interesting persona that only Bowie could have portrayed. Serkis plays Tesla;s assistant, Mr Alley.

The screen chemistry between Jackman and Bale is a privilege to watch, these to wonderful actors really engross themselves in their roles, we feel their pain, we laugh when they laugh, they fit together quite brilliantly through their excellent presence onscreen and through Nolan's sharp direction.

With some truly remarkable set pieces, its hard not too love magicians. Something so simple as making a ball disappear seems legendary when Christian Bale does it, he conveys his emotion into every scene and deserves the recognition he deserves.

With a wonderfully twisted and jaw-dropping final act, or 'prestige', this film cements itself not only as a film by Christopher Nolan, but a film bursting so much with charisma and gritty realism of the supernatural, its difficult to find faults with such a remarkable piece of cinema. One thing is for sure, you should be watching closely...