The Prestige (2006)

2006/PG-13/130 Min.

OVERALL 9.1

STORY/SCREENPLAY 9.2

ACTING 9.5
CINEMATOGRAPHY 9.5
EDITING 9.0
VISUAL/SPECIAL FX 8.5
ART/COSTUMES/MAKEUP 9.2
SOUND 9.5
MUSIC 8.0

VIOLENCE 5.0
LANGUAGE 1.0
SEXUAL CONTENT/NUDITY 1.0

MORALS 7.5
POWER 8.5
CREATIVITY 9.0

MELCHIZEDEK’S RANKING  #4

ABEL AWARDS BEST FILM - 8 wins / 5 Nominations

Mini-review:

This film is a cinematic masterpiece, playing out its own premise by becoming the greatest magic trick that its characters are attempting to perform.

Director: 
Christopher Nolan (Winner - Best Director)

Starring: 
Hugh Jackman (Nominee - Best Lead Actor)
Christian Bale (Winner - Best Supporting Actor)
Michael Caine (Honorable Mention - Best Supporting Actor)
Scarlett Johannson (Honorable Mention - Best Supporting Actress)
Rebecca Hall (Winner - Best Supporting Actress)

Full Review:

“Are you watching closely?” This is the first line of a film called The Prestige by director/writer Christopher Nolan, and it is a film that will keep you guessing. The film is an excellent, original, and mysterious drama that is one of the best in its genre. The film has a screenplay that is well written and will keep you guessing, acting that is superb, and is a very well-done period piece set in 19th century London. As told in the film, every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows some ordinary object and might ask someone to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, and normal. But of course, it probably isn't. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. But the audience would not clap yet, because making something disappear is not enough; the magician must bring it back. That is why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part. The part called “The Prestige”.

The story is well put together and is a unique work based on the novel by Christopher Priest. Like other films by director/writer Christopher Nolan, such as Inception or The Dark Knight, it is a well-thought through and mind-twisting film. The story is about two magicians: Robert Angier, who is played by Hugh Jackman; and Alfred Borden, who is played by Christian Bale. At the beginning of the film they are both assistants to a magician named Milton, along with Angier’s wife Julia. When Julia drowns in an accident on stage, Angier blames Borden, who was partially at fault for tying a knot that Julia was supposed to get out of easily. Angier is obsessed with getting back at Borden, and they become bitter rivals, trying to get the better of the each other and perform the greatest trick.

The summary above is only a brief glimpse at the plot because overall the story is extremely complex. The screenplay to the film is excellently put together, as it is done with selective ordering, shifting back and forth in time for artistic purposes. It gives the film a strange quality that prevents its viewers from knowing exactly what is happening, but at the same time they know somehow the entire film is a trick. This style makes the film very intriguing and keeps the viewer thinking about where the film is at and how it got to that point. So many movies today are predictable and unoriginal, and this film is neither.

Now, some people might say that this complex ordering makes the film too confusing and too hard to follow. This may be true for the people who watch films solely for entertainment. But even then, this film is still very well done, and because of that it may still be enjoyable for many. It is best not to watch this film with the purpose to simply be entertained, as this is a very thought-provoking film, and it is not pure entertainment in any respect. A review on The Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) said that people will enjoy the film if they are smart enough and not so “dumbed down” by most entertainment that you can stay steadily involved. The sad thing is that many people today are “dumbed down” by entertainment. Analyzing films for every aspect, and not just how much it entertained, is the only way to truly enjoy complex and thought-provoking films.

In addition to the complex plot of the film, The Prestige has excellent acting performances. Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Michael Caine are so believable that it makes one feel like they are watching a magic show they are putting on. Hugh Jackman plays well the role of the cold, angry, and obsessed magician Robert Angier who longs to avenge his wife’s death. Jackman’s performance takes off when he shows Angier’s turn from a fairly content assistant to an obsessed magician trying to pull off the greatest trick to get revenge at his rival. Hugh Jackman shows well his character’s extreme grudge against Alfred Borden, using that as his foundation fueling his cold obsession. This constantly comes into play, as at one point, we see Angier shoot Borden while Borden is trying to perform the infamous bullet catch trick. Hugh Jackman truly makes Angier’s obsessed character come to life. Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper[1] stated in a review, “Jackman and Bale give standout performances as rivals whose mutual obsession destroys all sense of perspective and ruins lives”.

On the other side, we have Christian Bale who excellently portrays the struggling magician Alfred Borden. Borden’s character is very strange as he seems noble one moment and conniving the next, a very difficult role to play. Borden struggles with Angier and they both continually attempt to sabotage each other’s magic shows. Borden hires a mysterious assistant named Fallon, and they work together to start their own show. When Borden performs a very successful trick he calls “The Transported Man”, Angier is obsessed with discovering Borden’s method and attempts to do the trick even better. On top of all this, we see Michael Caine’s character, the old magician named Cutter, who is caught in the middle of the battle between Angier and Borden. As the story progresses, Cutter must choose who he should ally himself with, and he struggles to find what to do, and Michael Caine plays his character to perfection. Though the film did not win any major awards for its acting, the performances deserve some respect as overall the characters are excellently portrayed and believable.

Another element where a film must excel to succeed is its quality, meaning its setting, cinematography, costumes, and other things similar to these aspects. Usually, period pieces are very hard to pull off because of the extensive costumes, sets, and props, but The Prestige captures the period of 19th century London into perspective quite well. If the film was in a modern setting, it would be less impressive since there is greater technology in the present day and less magicians like the ones of the 19th century. Setting it in the 19th century makes the illusions much more mind-boggling because of the lack of resources that they had in that era. The sets are also all amazing, especially the different stages and workshops the magicians work in. To go along with this, there are excellent period costumes, some very raggedy and worn down, and some very elaborate for the magicians. Finally, to top it all off, we also see some magic tricks actually performed by the actors, who were coached by Rick Jay, a sleight of hand expert who appears in the film as a magician.

Some objections to the film may be that there is some violence and language. The film is very intense and should not be recommended to young ones, and there are a few violent scenes. There is very little language for a PG-13 film, however, and the film is actually fairly clean. Some other arguments against the film might be about who the protagonist of the film is. Some also may wonder about the moral or message of the film, and may find the film depressing. There really is no clear protagonist of the film, as the major character, Angier, is not really a “good guy”. Usually the protagonist of a film has a change of heart for the better and becomes good in the end, or the character is simply always “the good guy”. Nevertheless, this is not the case with this film, as every character in the film seems either does not change or changes for the worse.

This is why the moral of the film is important. Though the film is a little depressing and has very little redemptive quality to it, the message of this film is clear if one looks closely. The point is to show how dangerous obsession can be and how pride and revenge will never get you what you want. A protagonist can be defined as the hero of a story, or the one you are “rooting” for to win in the end. The lead character, Angier, is not this man. In fact, many people may have different opinions as to who they root for. Some may think Borden is the protagonist, some may think even Cutter is that man, and some may end up not wanting anyone to win. But the main point is that Angier lets his obsession ruin him, and Borden lets his pride and want for fame get the best of him. This film shows the fallen nature of man and what he brings upon himself.

The Prestige is an original and well-done film that breaks through in an age where original works are few and far between. It excels with its extraordinary screenplay, excellent acting, and beautiful quality. This is a film that will make the viewer think hard and marvel at its complexity. The trick starts with “The Pledge” and twists with “The Turn”. The film is The Prestige; are you watching closely?

[1] Ebert & Roeper on RottenTomatoes.com