| THE PRESTIGE |
 2006 - USADirector: Christopher Nolan
- Reviewed by Vickie
I felt the same way as the end of this surprisingly engaging film drew closer and I found myself torn between wanting to know The Big Secrets and just wanting the filmmakers to roll the credits and leave me wondering. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman co-star as, respectively, Alfred Borden and Rupert Angiers, two amateur illusionists honing their craft in a two-bit magic show. Both want bigger and better things, not to mention more impressive tricks but, when one of their stunts goes horribly awry, the resulting tragedy divides the pair and turns them into bitter rivals. Watching the proceedings is a man named Cutter (Caine), a magician in his own right, who sides with Angiers and becomes his defacto manager. Alfred, meanwhile, finds himself a lovely wife (Rebecca Hall) and begins his quest to perfect the greatest illusion ever: the “transported man.” When Angiers gets wind of this new trick, he decides to replicate it… and up the creative stakes by enlisting the aid of an eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), who’s created a mysterious electricity-generating machine. This machine is like one of those giant lightning balls you see in science museums and it seems to possesses megawatts of unbridled power. What follows is a slick and kind of spooky game of one-upsmanship, as each man repeatedly attempts to outdo the other. Their rivalry intensifies, retaliations increase in number and scope, and all the while theories on how each man is performing the illusion abound. Scarlett Johansson co-stars as a Cockney assistant, who flits from one man to the other as her heart and professional needs dictate. The story is compelling and both actors are excellent, reining in their performances to a real, believable level as opposed to veering into over-the-top territory. Caine provides a nice voice of reason and a way in for the audience, since he’s both a participant in the proceedings and an observer not entirely privy to all that’s unfolding around him. Johansson is okay, but is outshone by newcomer Hall, and Bowie adds a quirky touch. But, here’s the thing: the filmmakers do decide to explain how everything’s being done, and the resulting revelations felt a little out of place… to the point of feeling almost like they were tacked on from a different movie of a different genre. I think I would have preferred to remain in the dark instead of having the men’s secrets laid out before me onscreen. The comparatively speedy “explanation” was also executed in a somewhat rushed and confusing manner, so I expect that more than a few filmgoers will still be left scratching their heads in a “Wait, did what I think just happened actually happen???” kind of way. DVD NOTES - by LindaThe Prestige is one of those films that begs discussion after the closing credits. In fact, the discussion with one of my co-workers has continued for several months since we've both seen the film. We both have completely different interpretations of what happened at the end of the movie! I won't tell you theories (I'm not one for spoilers), but I will tell you that the DVD doesn't answer any of our questions, unfortunately. There is no commentary track from director Christopher Nolan, however, the DVD includes a gallery of images from the film (including the old-timey poster artwork, which is cool), plus The Director’s Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher Nolan. This is a series of featurettes about the film, including discussion of historical accuracy, set design, and Nikolai Tesla (would have like to hear more about him), as well as some comments by the author of the book The Prestige, Christopher Priest. These featurettes aren't really any different from any other DVD extras, but they did tell me one thing: Nolan intended the film to be viewed as a magic trick in itself. You are fooled by what is going on, you wonder how the heck they are doing what they do, then the trick is slowly revealed. Ahhh. I see. All in all, if I want the real secrets revealed, I suppose I'll just have to watch the movie over and over and maybe read the book, because Nolan isn't giving anything away (at least on this DVD release).
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Near the start of director Christopher Nolan’s latest stylish drama,
Michael Caine’s character posits that, no matter how desperately
curious or fascinated they might be, no one really wants to know
how a magic trick works. No one wants to see the machinations
behind the illusion because it instantly strips away any notion of real
magic.
