Well-done

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2019)

I really enjoyed this movie, even if I don't think it is quite the masterpiece as others see it as. There is a lot to appreciate about the film: the performances by Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, among others are all excellent, the script was expertly written, and the score was suspenseful and unnerving in a good way. Like many Nolan films, the best aspect to this film is the writing. The movie travels between different timelines seamlessly to deliver its narrative and I found this really effective. Many themes are incorporated cleverly in the script, such as duality and the price of obsession. The reveal at the ending of this movie is hinted at in many small details throughout the film, and it is great that a viewer can more readily observe these details after multiple viewings of the film. The entire script definitely was expertly structured and successfully played out like a magic trick.
The only reservation I have about the movie is its ending, which I have mixed feelings about. In the end, it is revealed that Borden had a twin brother the entire time. As said before, I think this reveal was expertly tied in to the rest of the script, but I think the concept itself is kind of stupid. There were many times where I considered the possibility that Borden had a twin, but I dismissed it because it seemed too simple. Even Hugh Jackman's character mentions once that Borden may have a double in delivering his trick, but dismissed it because it would be unlikely that the double also had an injured hand. However, the movie simplistically just states at the end that the double indeed had an injured hand and purposely injured himself to create this situation. Beyond that, there were also many things that didn't see realistic at all with this reveal. For instance, it makes no sense that Borden would need to let his brother die in prison. He could have just implicated Hugh Jackman while pretending to be Fallon, and then let his brother get released. Beside this plot whole, I felt that there were two ways to which this (in my opinion, overlysimplistic) ending could be justified. First, it could be argued that the obviousness of the ending was its point, and like a magic trick, it was always right in front of the audience but ignored because they want to be fooled. Otherwise, the ending could be understood as a shaggy dog story, where the point is that Angier sacrificed his entire life just to figure out and outcompete Borden's trick, up to the point where he found actual magic and risked his own life, just to find out that Borden's trick was just that he had a twin. The underwhelming reveal of Borden having a twin may just be intentionally used to emphasize the dangerous and ironic consequences that come from becoming too obsessed in your work. I am not convinced with either explanation, but I could see how someone could validly argue them.
The movie could have been a mindblowing masterpiece if it wasn't for the ending, but other than that, it is still pretty great, particularly due to its superb script. Definitely worth a watch.