Twists and turns don't always work, but still a fascinating study of obsession

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2007)

On surface level, the film is a gorgeous treat. It is beautifully designed and crafted, with lush and never too eye-popping cinematography while still remaining quietly beautiful. All the set and costume design perfectly emulates the Victorian time period without ever seeming like it's trying to hard. On the contrary  as a historic presentation, it is a very fascinating portrayal of a form of entertainment that reached indescribable peaks of popularity during this particular time period. From a technical standpoint, the film is a sleek and stylish success.
It also uses an interesting storytelling technique of a mixed-up chronology in order to further add to the initial confusion, although everything comes together in the end. It's not quite on par with the mixed chronology of 21 Grams, but it's an interesting sort of "return to form" for director Christopher Nolan after Memento.
The acting is also fantastic from everyone involved, although nobody stands out in particular. Bale and Jackman lead the pack and both provide excellent turns, while the supporting players Caine, Johansson, Bowie and even Andy Serkis' small but memorably supporting role all provide satisfying performances with much expertise.
But it is when we get to the story itself that the film somewhat trips over itself. Fact of the matter is, the twist (or rather, twists) at the end of the film were, at least as I found, painfully predictable. Let's not mention the Angier twist which became apparent the moment the surprise success of Tesla's machine is revealed: But even the Borden twist, which was slightly more surprising if you ask me, was easily foreseen  the way Nolan presented the character of Borden's mentor/secret keeper came across as extremely suspicious from frame one, and it soon became apparent that the solution to Borden's trick lay within this character. On the other hand, one element of the story that could have gone wrong but instead throws the movie in its most interesting direction is the somewhat science fiction/fantasy element of Tesla's machine  more on this later. I found the end in which everything is revealed to be more under whelming than what Nolan may have been aiming for, but luckily, Nolan doesn't fail to deliver.
Had the film been left in the hands of another filmmaker, the twists at the end may have been portrayed as the point of the film. And the repetition of Cutter's opening lines may throw the audience off guard and in the direction of the twist being of the most importance. But it is not so. The true meaning of the film lies in the line "No one cares about the man in the box." Allow me to explain.
While slightly failing in the storytelling department, as a tale of morality and the human spirit, the film is incredibly successful and amazingly poignant. It seems that Nolan's auteur as a director is beginning to take form, as very specific themes can be found in all of his features. First and foremost, all of his features deal with the human mind one way or another. Memento and Insomnia both portray a mental condition. Batman Begins certainly portrays how Bruce Wayne was scarred for life by a traumatic event (the death of his parents) that drives all of his actions in the film. And now The Prestige also portrays a similar scarring, of how a traumatic event can lead to dangerous obsession. Which brings me to a further and more specific theme Nolan has in all of his features: Obsession. In Memento, Leonard is so obsessed with finding his wife's killer, he simply refuses to accept that he has already been found, since obsession is all that drives him through life. In Insomnia, Dormer's character forms a very unhealthy obsession with the murder involving Walter. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne's obsession with revenge against his parents' death drives him to extreme measures. And now in The Prestige, we find Angier, who is clearly obsessed with proving his worth against Borden, throwing all moral boundaries out in order to achieve his goal. Imagine the moral implementations of killing yourself again and again and again but always coming back. It's mind-blowing just to think of how obsessed you must be to do such a thing to yourself.
Ultimately, while the twists of the film don't necessarily work, it is a lavish and beautifully produced product while managing to both entertain and portray a haunting depiction of human morality, obsession and the human mind's shocking ways of dealing with such things. In this sense, the film is an utter success, and a harrowingly difficult one to process at that.