A great looking movie, almost too grim to recommend

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2007)

If the misdirections in The Prestige are effective (and even if they aren't), the suspense, intrigue, and sometimes humor of competing illusionists can make for an entertaining story. I also enjoyed how the movie moved back-and-forth through different time points to keep me curious and interested. However, at the same time, the emotional effect of some of the underlying themes and metaphors and the way they were developed was pretty grim and unsettling. The most obvious (and effective) to me dealt with the existential costs of letting certain perceived inadequacies and vanities drive your obsessions. The beautifully rich and dark, and sometimes grotesque, tones of the Victorian and Colorado settings seemed to enhance those feelings and also made the movie appealing to look at. Some of the key plot differences from the book leave even less room for sympathy for some of the characters, yet somehow the overall effect still felt worth the experience.