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Rating: 4.25 out of 5
Abracadabra! I think most kids wanted to try magic at one point. Hell, I know I did. When Harry Potter came out, you couldn’t tell me that people didn’t want to try magic. I’m still trying to make my way to Universal Studios and get me a wand. I have been waiting for years. The idea of doing magic has been around for centuries. Either good or bad, magic has been a fascinating subject. As far as I can remember, Merlin was the one that started it off for me with magic tricks. After that, I thought about Houdini and him being an old-school stunt trickster. When I think about magic in the States, I think of David Copperfield, along with Siegfried and Roy.
The Prestige is a film about two magicians who are feuding over their quest to perfect a teleportation trick. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan and based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest. Set in nineteenth-century London, magician Alfred Borden (Bale) is on trial for the murder of fellow magician Robert Angier (Jackman). Borden is facing hanging as the one eyewitness and former mentor, John Cutter (Caine), saw Borden backstage in the area where Angier was killed. Angier fell through the trap door into a transparent water-filled tank below and drowned. Angier, Borden, and Cutter had had a turbulent and strained history over the years when Angier’s wife passed away a few years earlier. When the pair were your protegees, both worked under “Milton the Magician,” while Angier’s wife Julia worked as his on-stage assistant, and Cutter provided all the tricks and materials. After the death of Julia, Borden, and Angier go their separate ways to make a name for themselves while feuding with each other. The hate between the two grows as Borden sabotages one of Angier’s shows. In retaliation, Angier shoots off two of Borden’s fingers. Once again, shit is on a personal level, and hatred for these two is at a record high. Soon, their feud hits a new level when Borden presents a new trick: the transported man. Borden being the more accomplished in the technical aspects, lacks Angier’s showmanship. Conversely, Angier is a better showman but can’t figure out the technical aspects. As Angier begins his quest to figure out the trick, he travels around the world until he finds a trick that could come out due them all, or will Borden continue to outshow Angier in his quest of learning about the transported man.
If you know me from other Nolan film reviews, you know that I think he is one of the best directors and writers in the business and of all time. His films make you think and hit hard. Only Nolan can take the concept of two magicians having a major falling out and trying to perfect a teleportation trick. Nolan has a way with the camera. He is a straight-up magician with his directing that draws you in and tells a unique story from character perceptions to the different angles in a scene he is trying to show.
As I said in the overview, Nolan presented this film as a magician’s trick by telling you the steps of the trick. As you watch, we learn about Angier and Borden. They are helping hands for a magician, but they go down an awful turn when Angier’s wife is killed, and he blames Borden. Angier gets his revenge by shooting off Borden’s fingers. What the story and Nolan does so well is show the past and present throughout the film.
The past is almost entirely dedicated to Angier’s point of view because Borden is in jail for his death and reading his journal. We see Angier and Borden try to one-up each other as magicians. Angier is the far better presenter, but Borden is the better magician. This goes on until Borden unveils the transported man trick. This leaves Angier in awe and wanting to know the secret. Hell, Angier even sends his assistant Olivia to help solve the trick. This makes Angier go on a quest to find out how to one-up the trick. Cutter tells him that he has someone else, but Angier doesn’t believe it. Angier spends a fortune going to America to meet scientist Nikola Tesla, who supposedly built a machine for The Transported Man trick. The machine that Tesla built is one of a kind and genuinely mysterious. More on this later because I’m about to drop a spoiler and twist. Actually, I’ll tell you right now. Tesla’s machine actually duplicates anything inside it. I would put so much money into it that I would become a billionaire. The only issue is that the item appears around or somewhere away from the machine.
In the present, we see that Borden is in jail for the “murder” of Angier. Borden is reading Angier’s journal while Angier’s assistant comes around asking for the full knowledge of the transported man trick. Borden holds out while being visited by his friend Fallon. In the present, we learn that Borden’s daughter has been taken in the care of a Lord. When Borden hears this, he wants to reveal his trick. It isn’t until the end that we learn that Angier is still alive.
Yet, this is when shit really gets crazy because the ending is a twist beyond the twist. I actually will not tell you the ending. What I will do is give you clues. As Caine’s character explained at the start and end of the film, a magic trick has three stages, or is it four? I can’t remember because my mind was blown. Nolan lays out subtle clues throughout the film as the main characters argue, Cutter explaining that he knows there are two people and other things to make your mind go in another direction. It felt like Nolan sat at many magician shows and revealed how they perform, but it seems so simple and straightforward that you don’t want to believe it. A masterful job at directing and telling a story.
This film wouldn’t be as good without the performances of the cast. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman were great in this film as they played multiple roles and had to be versatile. They made this film go as both showed animosity between their characters. Bale was excellent; one minute, he was caring and sweet, and the next, he was stern and distant. Jackson was the same way. His character was driven to know the secret of a trick, and the other time, he played an alcoholic. Brilliant performances by the two main stars.
The supporting cast was equally great. Michael Caine as John Cutter was that old man/mentor that worked perfectly in the film. Caine is a fixture in Nolan’s films and always brings something unique to the films. He is just that calming presence that is needed throughout the film. I’m not the biggest Scarlett Johansson fan. I do tolerate her, but she was good in this film. She is excellent as the beauty who is hired to get the secret, only for her to fall in love with Borden.
This is one of the best Nolan films and is enjoyable to watch. Only Nolan can make a magician movie entertaining with twists and tricks at the end. Bale and Jackman are great in their respective roles as two magicians trying to one-up the other with a specific trick. Watch this film. You will not be disappointed.
