The Prestige Release Date: October 20, 2006 Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, David Bowie, Scarlett Johansson Directed by: Christopher Nolan
The hallmark of a great magician is his ability to entertain the audience enough that we forget to be anticipating his next trick. That's one thing that 2006's other magic-themed picture, The Illusionist, did well. Christopher Nolan's The Prestige is a very different creature. From the moment the film begins, we're meant to be looking for the grand trick at its center. Nolan doesn't bother keeping the mechanics of any individual illusions a secret either. Early on, when one conjurer makes a canary disappear from its cage, we're shown how he did it and what the fate of that poor bird was. Nolan has a reason for approaching the subject of magic this way. Where The Illusionist was told from the audience's perspective, The Prestige unfolds through the eyes of two rival magicians (played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman), each of whom makes it his business to know the other's stage secrets.
Jackman is Robert Angier, an American exile pursuing a career in the magic trade in turn-of-the-century London. Bale plays local boy Alfred Borden, who makes up in inventiveness what he lacks in stage presence. Both men get their start working as assistants for a mediocre magician (real-life illusionist Ricky Jay), when a tragic accident turns them against each other. Whenever one mounts a show to unveil a new trick to the public, the other turns up to sabotage it. All of this changes when Borden invents an illusion he calls "The Transported Man." Unable to figure out how the trick works, Angier devotes all of his energy to learning Borden's secret, even journeying into the wilds of Colorado to visit the one man who might help: scientist Nikola Tesla (David Bowie, totally rocking a late-19th century mustache).
The Prestige certainly has all of the elements for a memorable magical mystery tour. In addition to Bale and Jackman, the cast includes Michael Caine as Angier's wizened confidant and Scarlett Johansson as the naive assistant. You've also got one of the smartest studio filmmakers today behind the camera and a meticulously constructed script (co-written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan from a book by Christopher Priest) that follows the three acts of a magic trick. But the finished film is too much in love with its own conceit. Because Nolan is focused so completely on the story's structure, individual scenes feel underwritten or, worse still, unbelievable. And for all the talk of twists and turns and ordinary things doing something extraordinary, the big reveal isn't that difficult to figure out.
If The Prestige is something of a let down as a magic trick, it's more successful as a tale of obsession. The rivalry between the magicians is brutal and bloody and Bale and Jackman do their best work when they're plotting each other's downfall. (That they both happen to be the stars of major superhero franchises only adds to the fun.) It's their spirited performances, rather than Nolan's grandstanding, that ultimately give the movie its kick. Now, who can we talk to about a Batman vs. Wolverine picture?
