THE PRESTIGE (Christopher Nolan, 2006) ***1/2

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2006)

I've been interested in this period drama about the rivalry between a couple of magicians ever since I first heard about it, promising to be the kind of film they don't make 'em like anymore - it was that, and then some! Still, if there's one criticism I'd level at THE PRESTIGE, it's this: magic there is here but no poetry (the closest it comes is in the scene where the snow is 'lit' up and when Hugh Jackman stumbles upon the transported hats); having just rewatched Georges Franju's JUDEX (1963), I felt this most strongly - what it needed, perhaps, was a more evocative score (a' la Maurice Jarre's haunting theme for that film). Likewise, I somewhat regret the fact that the settings and the detail had to be so realistic - but I can see how this was vital to the psychology (which is, basically, what drives the plot in the first place!).
The film shows the essential fun of the craft but also the dedication it requires; the throat-cutting which goes on behind the scenes does seem a little far-fetched, even if propelled by a quest for vengeance (to say nothing of the extremity of the sacrifice to which the two men and those closest to them seem to be willing to go, or are made to, merely to feed their individual unhealthy obsession!) - except that the plot is so absorbing it's only after the film is over that one has time to ponder on such details!! Of course, the multiple revelations during its last act are astounding, if not a little confusing and somewhat too clever for their own good (it's ironical, too, that the two magicians end up 'dying' the same way as their respective spouses - but to reveal more would be unthinkable!): it certainly needs more than a single viewing for all the subtleties to be picked up and, while I'm not usually one to allow most recent films another look, this one is utterly fascinating and enjoyable...so I wouldn't have a problem with that (and, in any case, reading the HTF's "Official Discussion Thread" on THE PRESTIGE got me thinking about how much of it went over my head!).
The casting works better than I had anticipated: both Jackman and Christian Bale are their respective characters and they work off each other beautifully; Michael Caine and David Bowie, then, lend dignity to the proceedings with their knowing and underplayed roles. Still, while the contribution of the three women in their lives (Scarlett Johannson, Rebecca Hall and Piper Perabo) isn't just decorative, only Hall as Bale's long-suffering wife is handed a truly meaty character; in fact, as was the case with THE BLACK DAHLIA (2006), Johannson serves mainly as a device to accentuate the power play being enacted between the two self-destructing male leads - but, then, such high-profile and noteworthy assignments can only increase her own prestige {sic} as an actress...
I've loved all of Nolan's films I've watched so far (I'm only left with his debut feature, FOLLOWING [1998], to catch up with) - but I can safely say that this one's the best (or, if you like, my favorite) of the lot.