Intelligent and incredibly suspenseful

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2008)

Drama about two magicians in England in the 1800s--Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). They perform together and Angier's wife (Piper Perabo) is accidentally killed during an act--or maybe not. Angier blames Borden--Borden denies it. They then start competing acts and try to sabotage each other--and things get deadlier and the stakes higher.
This was a box office bomb and that's a shame. It is a little too long and it keeps you guessing--that's why people probably stayed away. This isn't a movie you can relax with--you have to pay strict attention to figure out what's going on. The movie has many ingenious twists and turns and constantly keeps pulling the rug out from under you. You always think you know where it's going--but then it veers off completely in another direction. Some people hate challenging films like this but I was fascinated. The acting is just superb across the board. Jackman and Bale have never been better--they come tearing out of the movie at you. Even the supporting roles are well done. Michael Caine (playing sort of a Greek chorus) pops up and Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson are also very strong. And wait till you see David Bowie as Tesla! Also the direction by Christopher Nolan just adds to the film immensely. He was one of the co-writers so he knows what he wants.
Ingenious drama--beautifully acted and directed and full of twists and turns. One of the best movies of 2006. A definite must-see!