October 21, 2006
The Prestige
The director of Memento delivers a beautifully shot puzzle box film that makes up for its lack of emotion through its carefully structured plot.
Starring: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine
Rating: 8/10
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Runtime: 128 minutes
Starring: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine
Rating: 8/10
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Runtime: 128 minutes
The Prestige is, in many ways, a return to form for Christopher Nolan. Before the blockbuster success of Batman Begins, Nolan's introduction to Hollywood was a twisty little cult hit called Memento and, much like The Prestige, that film's success stemmed from its puzzle-like structure and shifting narrative. Unfortunately, The Prestige shares that film's weaknesses as well.
In The Prestige, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play competing magicians at the turn of the 20th century. Bale plays Alfred Borden, a "natural" magician whose lack of showmanship leads him to early failure in the rivalry while Jackman plays Robert Angier, a man lacking Borden's skills but capable of presenting the most mundane of tricks so that it feels fresh and new. Like all great rivalries, the men share an affinity for the same woman (Scarlett Johansen - vapid and boring as ever), a friendship with the same man (Michael Caine - wonderful as the emotional core of the film), and a partnership with the same inventor (David Bowie - delivering an amusing performance despite a questionable Russian accent). As character come and go, though, the film's focus is really the rivalry between the two men and the great lengths it drives them to undertake. Both Bale and Jackman are great in their respective parts. Jackman has particular fun playing the regal Angier as well as Angier's loutish, drunken double. Bale is quickly shaping up to be the next Johnny Depp with his ability to completely disappear into a role despite his superstar good looks and his powerful onscreen presence. Here he carries himself like a ruffian while delivering his lines in a perfect cockney accent.
As stated earlier in the review, The Prestige's brilliance is in its enigmatic plot. The movie is meticulously scripted and each scene is a necessary piece in a much larger puzzle. As a brainteaser, The Prestige is almost perfect (one of the big twists removes the film from reality and places it almost completely into the realm of the fantastic) but as a film it's unusually hollow - a problem that afflicted Nolan's debut as well. Much of this is due to the film's shifting narrative. There is nothing wrong with a film moving around in time but The Prestige does it at a much quicker pace which can prevent the viewer from attaining a better understanding of the characters and their feelings and motivations at any particular time. In addition, every detail works towards the movie's resolution which robs specific details and statements between the characters of any emotional relevance. To pursue this any further would be to give away one of the film's biggest twists but keep an eye out for a regular exchange that occurs between two of the movie's characters that adds drama to the proceedings before the context of the exchange is brought to light in the film's final minutes.
Some might have found the preceding review more negative than one would expect for a movie that I gave an 8 to but The Prestige is a great movie that is robbed of being a classic by a few niggling traits. In a time that films like Man of the Year are considered entertainment, The Prestige is a clever exception that lives up to the promise of the director's previous works.
In The Prestige, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play competing magicians at the turn of the 20th century. Bale plays Alfred Borden, a "natural" magician whose lack of showmanship leads him to early failure in the rivalry while Jackman plays Robert Angier, a man lacking Borden's skills but capable of presenting the most mundane of tricks so that it feels fresh and new. Like all great rivalries, the men share an affinity for the same woman (Scarlett Johansen - vapid and boring as ever), a friendship with the same man (Michael Caine - wonderful as the emotional core of the film), and a partnership with the same inventor (David Bowie - delivering an amusing performance despite a questionable Russian accent). As character come and go, though, the film's focus is really the rivalry between the two men and the great lengths it drives them to undertake. Both Bale and Jackman are great in their respective parts. Jackman has particular fun playing the regal Angier as well as Angier's loutish, drunken double. Bale is quickly shaping up to be the next Johnny Depp with his ability to completely disappear into a role despite his superstar good looks and his powerful onscreen presence. Here he carries himself like a ruffian while delivering his lines in a perfect cockney accent.
As stated earlier in the review, The Prestige's brilliance is in its enigmatic plot. The movie is meticulously scripted and each scene is a necessary piece in a much larger puzzle. As a brainteaser, The Prestige is almost perfect (one of the big twists removes the film from reality and places it almost completely into the realm of the fantastic) but as a film it's unusually hollow - a problem that afflicted Nolan's debut as well. Much of this is due to the film's shifting narrative. There is nothing wrong with a film moving around in time but The Prestige does it at a much quicker pace which can prevent the viewer from attaining a better understanding of the characters and their feelings and motivations at any particular time. In addition, every detail works towards the movie's resolution which robs specific details and statements between the characters of any emotional relevance. To pursue this any further would be to give away one of the film's biggest twists but keep an eye out for a regular exchange that occurs between two of the movie's characters that adds drama to the proceedings before the context of the exchange is brought to light in the film's final minutes.
Some might have found the preceding review more negative than one would expect for a movie that I gave an 8 to but The Prestige is a great movie that is robbed of being a classic by a few niggling traits. In a time that films like Man of the Year are considered entertainment, The Prestige is a clever exception that lives up to the promise of the director's previous works.