The film works, it really does, even when it's less than artful

Rating: 9/10 (28 September 2017)

Rewatching this makes it pretty clear what Nolan's primary focus is in storytelling (if it wasn't obvious before) - perspective and the subjective nature of it. What better way to expound on that than in a story about dueling magicians hiding their secrets from one another.
There are metaphors galore in this (how could there not be in a film about subjectivity and obsession) but it struck me this time how convenient the story is. It moves constantly and forcefully forward, revealing twists all the way, daring you to try and outguess it, so at first it's easy to miss on the plot contrivances and somewhat simple nature of it all. But I'm also not sure how much that matters. The film works, it really does, even when it's less than artful.