Outstanding. Yet another in Christopher Nolan's increasingly heavy bag of tricks that'll leave you begging the question "How does he do it?"

Rating: 8/10 (9 November 2006)

Obsession, a theme dealt with countless times before, is never one that grows old in narrative cinema. We see it manifest itself in almost every genre, from epic crime sagas like Michael Mann's Heat (1995) to anti-eroticism like David Cronenberg's Crash (1996), such is its generic influence. The Prestige, the latest from wunderkid Christopher Nolan, is a movie very much rooted in obsession, but more importantly how in-human people are willing to go in order to feed there obsession. Hugh Jackman plays Robert Angier, a wannabe-magician, and brilliant showman whose trickster talents are sadly lacking the amazement that Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) enriches his magic with. Borden, meanwhile, lacks the showmanship of Angier, and can only sell his act for its amazement, in spite of its wizardry. Beginning their careers as apprentices, both Angier and Borden work with each other at first, but as is established early on in Nolan's film, their friendship turns to rivalry, and inevitably in death, as the non-linear narrative establishes early on that Borden has been charged with the murder of Angier's character, and sentenced to a jail cell. Yet not is all as it seems, as the twisted nature of the plot keeps the audience firmly on their toes throughout the proceedings.
Despite its period setting, very seldom do we get a sense of visual history. Nolan isn't interested in wetting our appetites for milieu, but rather treats this for what it is: a complex character study. It may be 19th century England but that doesn't mean we don't get hand-held camera shots or contemporary music (at least when the credits start to roll). As Michael Caine's character Cutter rightfully points out, "Obsession is a young man's game". Both Borden and Angier are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to be the best magician there is. But only the one who never lets up from their act for a second will truly succeed. This obsession is what keeps us, the viewers, guessing from start to finish. We are never entirely sure who has the upper hand in this war of wizardry, which is part of the puzzling enjoyment of this utterly compelling piece of work. The Prestige constantly hoodwinks its audience from beginning to end, with its various twists and turns that, in that Christopher Nolan kind of way, never quite give you all the pieces to the puzzle. But the more he hides from his audience, the more we become intrigued, querying the complex narrative as much as Angier obsesses over Borden's talents.
Whilst The Prestige is a complex film at the best of times, the borderline between puzzling and baffling is rarely crossed. In the same way that Nolan's previous masterpiece Memento (2001) took full advantage of the jumpy nature of its unique narrative, The Prestige goes as far as flashing back from within a flash back. It is an instance of cinema that creates enjoyment out of its complexity, rather than sheer confusion, as Nolan manages to unravel the intricate non-linear narrative in a superbly told way. The weight of the performances also plays a part in marking this film's brilliance. Jackman, whose talents had previously been hidden behind flashy special effects, delivers a great performance of a man every bit as obsessed with his work as he is with Borden. Christian Bale is fast emerging as one of the most talented leading men those Hollywood posses. Yet the outstanding performance in the film is arguably Michael Caine, who possesses a tower of screen presence as the adviser and mentor of both men. It is perhaps a shame then that Scarlett Johansson's performance, as the in-between lover of both men, only seems to come alive when her English accent starts to wane. It is not so much a bad performance as it is an inappropriately reserved one, with all her effort in perfecting the London twang draining any weight from her natural screen presence. Yet whatever small quibble one might have of this film is only trivial, as this is clearly one of the best films of the year so far. Whilst the presence of David Bowie is enough to sink any movie, the sheer dramatic power generated by Nolan's film is enough to drown out any flaws, few as they may be, from foiling this magic trick. This is without question one of the best films of the year. Is Oscar watching?