The Prestige, as you'd expect from Christopher Nolan (director of Memento and Batman Begins), is a stylish film with twists and turns. And with the four leads being Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson, you can rest assured that the acting is all top-notch as well. Throw in a first-rate script with a twisty ending that may or may not have you guessing right up until the end and you've got the makings of a highly entertaining film.
The movie opens in London around the turn of the 19th century, with the death of magician Rupert Angier (Jackman), with Alfred Borden (Bale), another magician, as the only suspect. While Borden is held in prison during the trial, he is brought a copy of Angier's journal, which he reads and we see in flashbacks. One of these flashbacks reveals that years earlier, Angier got hold of a copy of one of Borden's journals and while Angier reads it we get a further flashback and so we have a flashback within a flashback, which allows us to see the story from both of the lead characters' point of view.
Both Angier and Borden began their careers as apprentices to the same magician. Angier's wife was the magician's assistant. One night, Angier's wife died during a water tank trick because she was unable to untie the knots in time; knots tied by Borden. This incident is the beginning of the rivalry and hatred between the two men that will carry throughout the movie.
They both soon launch themselves into solo careers. Borden is the superior magician, but Angier, with the help of his mentor, Cutter (Caine), is a far better showman. Cutter hires Angier a pretty assistant (Johansson) and helps him learn a few new tricks. Borden on the other hand, while not as successful, performs tricks that Angier longs to master. After stealing Borden's greatest trick, The Transported Man, Angier becomes very successful, but still his greatest obsession is getting revenge on Borden by humiliation or any other means he can. His obsession lasts years and takes him around the world and costs him dearly, both emotionally and financially. Borden doesn't sit idly by either, matching Angier with acts of retaliation that prolong the rivalry. And the revenge on both sides isn't merely connected to their careers as both of them extract their pound of flesh from the other.
Jackman and Bale make great rivals and while at times Jackman's Angier seems like the protagonist, they each rotate in and out of that role as the story reveals its secrets. In the end you might be wondering if the film contains a protagonist at all or if both characters haven't each received what was coming to them. Caine's and Johansson's roles are both supporting as their characters' lives are dictated by Borden and Angier.
I have to confess that I guessed most of the movie's ending, but it was still satisfying nonetheless. Unlike The Illusionist, which came out earlier this year and also involved a magician in the 1800s, The Prestige's ending is clever and is of the kind where you think back on all that came before it and think to yourself, "Okay, now it all makes sense." If you're going to have a twist ending, you've got to make sure that if someone watches it again, everything makes more sense that second time. The Sixth Sense is the best example of this kind of movie, and while The Prestige's ending doesn't contain nearly the kind of wallop that The Sixth Sense had, it is a satisfying one.
My only complaint is the running time. At over two hours, there is room for trimming. I wish filmmakers would take into account that when they make their movie 2 hours and ten minutes long, they're actually taking up 3 hours of the viewer's time when you factor in waiting in line for the ticket, the concession stand, and then sitting through the ads and the previews. If you're going to take up that much time, you need to make damn sure that the movie is as tight as it can be. While there isn't too much fat on this movie, it could still have been trimmed a bit more. It's a minor complaint that doesn't mar the overall quality of the film.
With Bale and Jackman for the women and Johansson for the men, the movie is sure to bring the crowds this weekend. But it's the great story that will generate the word of mouth that will make this movie a hit.
