great movie, dark story about an all consuming rivalry

Rating: 9/10 (3 March 2007)

"The Prestige" is a movie by the same writers/director as "Memento" so I had great expectations and luckily I wasn't disappointed at all.
First of all it looks great, a lot of effort went into the details of the locations and costumes etc. It's very moody and the whole atmosphere of a late 1800's England fits just right. The acting is great too, all characters in the story are understandable and believable. Also, by introducing the historic character Nikola Tesla a certain it-could-be-true feeling is added to the movie (very entertaining performance by David Bowie by the way).
The movie covers a long time-span and shows many interesting locations, so in a way it's also an adventure movie. There are several twists but it's all integral to the storyline and not just some gimmick. As always with these kind of twists, a lot of people pat themselves on the back because they figured it all out right away (or so they claim). But for me the twist wasn't the biggest surprise in the end.
Instead, the amazement comes when you think about what the main characters must have been through all along, the sacrifice. At the end you suddenly look back and realize how their single-mindedness, their obsessiveness has gradually taken them to a very dark place. That's the part you'll keep thinking about after seeing it.
Great movie, highly recommended.