Raising the stakes in this tale of illusions and revenge

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2006)

Director Christopher Nolan has gone from quirky,disturbing mystery director(Following,Memento)to mind f--er(Insomnia) to dark action movie director(Batman Begins)and with the Presitge,back to mind f--er.
One-time friends,cohorts and now rival magicians in Victorian England,Robert Angier(Hugh Jackman,who seems to be in everything lately)and Alfred Borden(Christian Bale,returning to his native accent)engage in a war of out-doing each other and,possibly,doing harm to each other as they try to outwit and out-perform each other,both looking to perfect and improve upon the art of creating the perfect illusion. The fuel for their rivalry isn't entirely in their heads:Borden's inexplicable inability to save Angier's wife(Piper Perabo)from a botched escape routine has set Angier out to make his act not just an act but a personal vendetta to destroy Borden,and Angier's ruining of Borden's first public performance(along with part of Borden's right hand),steels Borden to sabotage and monitor his old chum's performances.Years later,when it appears that Borden has found a way to near-flawlessly perform the "Transported Man" routine,Angier goes to great lengths--specifically,the mountains of Colorado--to look up charismatic and mysterious inventor Nikola Tesla(a saturnine,mesmerizing and brunette David Bowie)to help with a contraption that will enhance the act. The contraption proves to be a much more powerful device,one that threatens to destroy whomever uses it. Or does it?
The neat thing,to me,about magic/con movies is that they always challenge the viewer to keep up with it. They may not always succeed,but they at least try to keep the viewer from being passive. Such is the case with this film,which is visually enchanting and acted nicely. The leads,in particular,are studied and focused as increasingly bitter rivals. Michael Caine is fantastic as their mentor,a sage and patient man who senses that he has little power over what's about to happen and merely wants to stay out of the way. The lovely Scarlett Johnnson makes the most out of her late addition character,an attractive magician's assistant who is brought up by Angier but finds herself smitten with Borden.
Mood and atmosphere are important here,and this film makes the most of it. It may not be perfect,and it did seem like it left a few too many plot lines to dangle,but overall,it was effective,and that's what should count. As one of the lines in the movie exhorts you the viewer to do:watch closely.