"THE PRESTIGE"
Movie Review
by Rachel Buccicone
| ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Hugh Jackman as ROBERT ANGIER Christian Bale as ALFRED BORDEN Michael Caine as CUTTER Piper Perabo as JULIA MCCULLOUGH Rebecca Hall as SARAH Scarlett Johansson as OLIVIA WENSCOMB David Bowie as NIKOLA TESLA Rated PG-13 Opens October 20, 2006 Studio: Touchstone Directed by: Christopher Nolan Back to Movie Review Home |
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Twists and turns and tricks up everyone’s sleeves! Christopher Nolan yet again creates a complex and magnificently-written tale with prestige.
Set in turn-of-the-century England, “The Prestige” is the story of two rival magicians and the atrocious tricks they use to get ahead of one another. The title of the film is derived from the name of the third act in any magician’s show in which the audience finds all the twists and turns. Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) begin as bottom rate magician working together until the accidental death of Angier’s wife. From here the magicians try to develop an act worthy of an audience while sabotaging the each other’s attempt to do the same.
The first turning point in the film is when Borden creates a magic trick never before seen. The trick seems to be real magic and brings Borden great success. Angier develops his own version of this act as an illusion, not magic.
Cutter (Michael Caine) acts as the older, wiser magician who assists Angier in his endeavors. Scarlett Johansson comes in as Olivia, who is Angier’s assistant until he sends her to Borden to discover his trick. Olivia’s attempts only produce a journal which may contain Borden’s secrets. Angier now learns of a certain wizard played by David Bowie, Nikola Tesla. Traveling to Colorado to find this wizard, Angier implores that he create a machine for the greatest magic trick of all time.
From here things get complicated, and in order not to give away the magicians’ secrets I’ll conclude by saying this: Angier does create the greatest magic trick, but he certainly gets more than what he had bargained.
“The Prestige” is based on the book by Christopher Priest with a screenplay written by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan. The plot’s arrangement is a bit complicated. We jump among three time periods: the present in which Alfred Borden is in jail and reading Angier’s journal; the interim past where Angier is writing his journal while reading Borden’s journal; and the past that contains all the major events. Got that? Complex as it may be, Nolan has a plot arrangement that is easy to understand. The story may drag a bit, but the secrets revealed in the last five minutes make all worthwhile.
Christopher Nolan seems to have arranged a “Batman Begins” reunion by casting Christian Bale and Michael Caine. Bale, as usual, plays a marvelous lead and makes use of yet another English dialect. Hugh Jackman (“X-Men”) always does well in a period piece, and “The Prestige” is no exception.
Michael Caine (“The Weather Man”) never fails in a supporting role and requires not but a wardrobe change to fit into the 1900s. A lowbrow English accent seals the deal for Scarlett Johansson’s (“Match Point”) character, plus she looks great in a period piece. Rebecca Hall (“McLeod’s Daughters”) has the dramatic part of Borden’s wife. She presents a great performance in this crucial role. David Bowie (“Labyrinth”) makes his triumphant return to the screen as the wizard Tesla. You would never know it’s Bowie, but he puts on a serious performance and seems to be perfect for this role.
Both the settings and costumes are beautiful. Additionally, we get the same great style we’ve come to expect from Nolan. “The Prestige” appears to be impeccably composed.
If you are a fan of Nolan’s work, you will surely love this picture; if you can’t sit through the drama of early twentieth century (or magic shows), maybe not so much. Christopher Nolan has created a film that is both dramatic and riveting. Unfortunately, those moments of side-story drama tend to drag the film down a bit, but, like I said, the last five minutes makes the whole thing worth seeing.
