If this doesn't sweep the boards at Oscars night...

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2006)

Quite simply, THE best movie of the year (closely followed by Rian Johnson's Brick). Intelligent, witty, excellently shot (a superb mix of breathtaking pans and establishing shots and very involving hand-held/steadi shots), with the finest actor of a generation (Caine) and very likely his successor (Bale).
No spoilers here, as unlike Memento,The Prestige's tricks can be worked out before they are revealed, and audiences will have great fun doing so. This is a tale of rival Victorian magicians, whose obsessions lead each into darker and darker places as Jackman's Angier seeks revenge for the death of his wife, and Bale's Borden looks to prove himself the better of the two magicians. Even without the mystery, twists and turns, this story is an excellent character study, something that carries the picture and at times supersedes the mystery and science fiction elements of the plot.
Like Memento, it has a non-linear narrative, though not such an extreme one...the narrative is played out in three stages, like the magic tricks within it - first the pledge, then the turn, finally the prestige. It can be followed easily enough by anybody with a decent attention span, and reaps great rewards for those who follow it closely enough to try and fathom its mysteries. As with magic, the trick is not what has been done, but HOW it has been accomplished.
Nolan is fast proving himself (along with David Lynch) the master of non-linear narrative film-making. His movies put the non-linear pretenders in their place (you know who you are), and shows that, even in this age of mass-consumption and dumbing down, movie audiences can be allowed to think, and don't need everything spelled out for them.
Can't wait for Oscars night, if this doesn't walk home with a few (Nolan particularly, Bale and Caine) then there is NO JUSTICE!!!