Rival Stage Magicians

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2012)

The Prestige is a British-American mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century. Obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, they engage in competitive one-upmanship with tragic results.
The film features Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. It also stars Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, and Andy Serkis. Priest's epistolary novel was adapted to the screen by Nolan and his brother, Jonathan Nolan, using nonlinear narrative structure.
Obsession, jealousy, and deceit define the tense relationship shared between two turn-of-the-century magicians in Memento and Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan's dizzying tale of sleight of hand. Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden are London-based magicians of the highest order, both blessed with spectacular powers of deception and both cursed with unrelenting envy for one another's skills. When Alfred performs an awe-inspiring trick for which there seems no logical explanation, the friendly competition shared between the pair turns to deadly rivalry as the enraged Rupert determines to uncover his rival's deepest secrets. In the world of illusion, however, nothing is ever quite as it seems, and the rules of the physical world simply don't apply. Now, as bitter competition quickly begins to consume the souls of both performers, the firestorm birthed by their anger threatens to consume all who surround them.
It's quite a movie -- atmospheric, obsessive, almost satanic.It is never less than engaging, though considering that the title The Prestige refers to the moment in a magic act that gives it its "wow" factor, it's kind of a shame that the ultimate "reveal" in the movie is a little too tricky for its own good.Jackman and Bale give standout performances as rivals whose mutual obsession destroys all sense of perspective and ruins lives.Overall,full of twists and turns, it is a dazzling period piece that never stops challenging the audience.