The Prestige (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: At the dawn of the 20th century, rival magicians Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are desperate to reveal each other’s secrets. Obsessed by the escalating competition, the two illusionists begin to perform increasingly risky tricks — which soon turn deadly. Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie also star in this taut psychological thriller from director Christopher Nolan.

Review: The Prestige is very dark, complicated, convoluted. It’s powerful and disturbingly emotional, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of intense despair throughout the film. Not that this is a bad thing…such an acute reaction in me usually means that the acting was phenomenal and the story was entertaining. As a matter of fact, I was completely glued to my seat the entire movie, I couldn’t help myself. The story plunges the viewer deep into tragic obsession through a myriad of brutal twists and turns. I felt nauseous at the deviousness of the main characters, their cutthroat and maniacal attempts to top each other transcended beyond a story about the magic of illusion. In fact, The Prestige isn’t really about magic or illusion at all, fundamentally. It’s about life-consuming obsession and the lengths one is willing to go to satisfy it when in truth, obsession is unquenchable and cannot be satisfied at all. Hugh Jackman is decent as Angier but the two performances that made the most impact on me were Bale as Borden and Bowie as Tesla. Bale’s delivery of Borden is calculated, ruthlessly delivered and truly remarkable. Bowie is intriguing, he adeptly portrays a man of both science and mystery - Tesla as I have always imagined him to be. Michael Caine is typically cast, he does a great job but there is nothing exciting about the role or his portrayal of the role. I felt Scarlett Johansson’s performance was “phoned in”, maybe because she truly has been overexposed in recent years. She appears bored to me throughout the film. I stated that Johansson and Jackman had zero chemistry with each other in my review of Scoop and they have proved that yet again in The Prestige. The chemistry between Johansson and Bale is much more palpable but I think Bale could create chemistry with just about any female! The only criticism I have of The Prestige is the transition back and forth, from past to present. It’s a confusing story line technique showing up in movies much too frequently lately and I am not fond of it, I feel it detracts from my ability to really enjoy a film. I enjoy movies that encourage me to use my brain but if I have to think too hard, I prefer a linear story line to keep me on track. My final comment: I have seen many comparisons of The Prestige with The Illusionist and I think this is a tragic mistake. They are both excellent movies about magicians, both movies about humanity but that’s where the similarity ends. The Illusionist is a love story of hope and survival. The Prestige is a tale of vengeance and enslavement to a desperate compulsion. Both should be judged on their own individual merits.

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Submitted by: Brandy 2/24/07