Smoke and mirrors

Rating: 6/10 (10 October 2007)

Engaging, engrossing but in the end, for me, confusing movie helmed by dark mystery purveyor extraordinaire Christopher Nolan. The movie plays like a magicians' version of "The Duellists", with Jackman and Bale vying to pull off the perfect disappearing act on the Edwardian stage. To make such a thin premise the basis for a whole movie takes some doing and it's to Nolan's credit that he pretty much pulls it off. I did find the constant change of narrative perspective somewhat confusing and the "reveal" at the end far fetched to say the least (unless I'm wrong Bale's disappearing device is actually a duplicating or cloning machine, with the doppelganger dying every night) but the journey along the way is well purveyed, helped by a stellar cast on good form. Michael Caine as elder statesman and lead narrator holds the story together, the stunts are effectively conveyed and throughout the dark cinematography holds your attention. As I stated above though, the implausibility of the piece ultimately detracts from the end result. Derren Brown does it better on TV!