Nolan delivers more than just smoke and mirrors

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2006)

It's now official in my book; Christopher Nolan is the Hitchcock of the twenty-first century. His films are often dark, psychological and mysterious and always intelligent and carefully planned out; he's a real pro of both direction and misdirection. From his early film, Following, to last summer's blockbuster hit, Batman Begins, his films also usually require some intelligence and maybe even a second viewing to put all the jig-saw piece together. His latest thriller, entitled The Prestige, is a combination of the gloomy cinematography of Batman Begins and the swift and often disorienting editing of Following. Yes, it's a thinker, and yes I'm sure some will easily confuse this film with The Illusionist, but these two films couldn't be anymore different. Where as The Illusionist was a romantic-mystery set in Vienna, The Prestige is a dark mystery-thriller set in Victorian era London. This is a darker, meaner and a much more emotionally colder film about two men's obsession with fame and greatness, and to what lengths they will desperately go to get it.
The Prestige is about two magicians, Rupert Angier and Alfred Bowden, played marvelously by the charismatic Hugh Jackman and the slick and crafty Christian Bale. Angier is a magician with a real talent for wooing the audience with his razzle-dazzle tricks, and Bowden is the more talented of the two, but doesn't quite know how to engage the audience with his show stopping talents. They were once partners working with a magic stage producer named Cutter (played by the great Michael Caine), but when Angier's wife is accidentally killed in a magic trick gone wrong a strong rival and bitter hatred is born. Angier holds Alfred personally responsible for the accident, and then sets out to get his revenge by up-staging his competition with more dazzling tricks or simply just steal the ones he's already using, but just adding a little more pizazz to win over the crowds and ultimately get all the glory.
The rival gets more and more heated when Alfred pulls off an incredible trick that Angier just can't seem to figure out how to duplicate. To the best of his knowledge he tries to replicate the trick, but as he struggles to unravel the mystery behind it meets an obsessed scientist named Nikola Telsa (played very well by David Bowie, that's right David Bowie, how awesome was that!), who's experimenting with electricity. Remember this is the late nineteenth century, and to some that probably was a form of magic back then. As this rivalry gets more and more intense lives are shattered (along with limbs) and friendships are betrayed. The film bounces back and forth from the present time and the past (with the use of 0f flashbacks), which helps to keep the mystery masked until it's ready to be unveiled at the end. But unlike The Illusionist, this isn't a film that's solely a one-trick pony. The Prestige is twisting and turning from beginning to end, and never stops. Some things you might see coming, others you might not, but regardless, Nolan delivers the drama and the suspense to pull you into the film and carry you through it. I won't talk anymore about the film or its secrets; it's far too much fun to discover them for yourself and then talk to others who have seen it afterwards. I noticed a number of people in the theater stayed in their seats until the end credits discussing the film's ending and it's many surprises.
The reason I'm not giving this film a perfect ten is because sometimes it can get a bit too confusing, but I'm sure it'll make it even more fun to go back and watch it over and over again just like Memento. Also, emotionally it was a little tough to get into fully. The characters aren't quite fully black nor white; they're a shade of gray that's constantly drifting from the light to the dark. Jackman is especially impressive because of his charismatic charm (remember how likable Wolverine was? Yeah, me too.) and to see him slip into evil is actually kind of spooky. And what can I say about Christian Bale other than the fact that he's an amazing actor. If anyone is to be the "hero" of this tale I'd probably put my money on him. With The Prestige Christopher Nolan has given me one more reason why he's one of my favorite film directors working today, and so far his track record is flawless and his films are consistently intriguing and refreshingly original. This film is one of the smartest brain teasers of the year and I am certain The Prestige will make my top ten favorite movies of the year list. Now I can't wait for Nolan and his team to get to work on the sequel to Batman Begins; The Dark Knight. I'm sure that once again I'll be left stunned and thrilled.