A Masterpiece of Originality

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2007)

It is not often that we are given the privilege to see a truly original story, not a remake with different faces and effects but instead a unique tale. It is a regular complaint by movie enthusiasts that the business is dominated by copied or reworked story lines. This film has consistently pushed the boundaries just as the Matrix did when it was first released. Not many movies can boast such a debate over the tiny details or the implications of the actions of each character. When the machine is first seen in its detail, the ruthlessness of Angier is truly discovered. While movies such as the Sixth Day attempt to debate the ethics of such a device, The Prestige simply uses it to highlight the greed and burning ambition of a man. This movie is very complex in its themes and plot and it is encouraging to see a film that forces the viewer to think and review the storyline again and again to try and determine the truth. Is it not also ironic that while we the viewers are attempting to seek the truth, so the characters are seeking to disillusion us, just like a magic act. We are forced, in a sense, into volunteering for the magician which shows us in the end how incredibly well thought out this storyline really is. Cutter seems to sum it all up for us - 'Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it because you're not really looking. You don't really want to know the secret... You want to be fooled.'