The Prestige, a review.

   Are you watching closely? Because the harder you’re looking, the more you concentrate, the more effective Christopher Nolan’s ultimate misdirection in his Victorian murder-mystery tale, The Prestige, will prove.

   Every magic trick consists of three acts. The first is the pledge; we are shown something ordinary and asked to inspect it, to see that it’s real. Once we’re satisfied the next act begins: the turn, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary.  Finally, once we’re engrossed and fooled, comes the third and hardest part of the act, the prestige, or big finale. Nolan’s laid out the film in a similar way, with the whole piece working as a ruse that defies us to see through the smoke and mirrors and spot the hidden trick.

   Set in the 1890s, the plot revolves around two London magicians, Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale), struggling through a bitter feud after an illusion goes wrong and causes the death of an assistant.  Both magicians are capable of awe inspiring tricks, but as their tense relationship and lives become increasingly fuelled by obsession, deceit and jealousy their rivalry turns deadly, destroying and consuming most aspects of their lives.  Nolan ensures that illusion plays a pivotal role in the film though, so not all is as it seems and at times the rules of physics are morphed.

   The plot becomes increasingly captivating the further we delve into the magicians lives but what’s intriguing about The Prestige is the lack of CGI. The old fashioned film style leaves open the possibility of figuring out the twist, the audience remain comfortable in the fact that it will remain realistic. True to Nolan’s style though, the time line isn’t linear, The Prestige is filled with flashbacks, similar to Momento and again, the technique works well.

   Despite knowing we’re being misdirected by Angier and Borden, they play their roles so convincingly that it’s hard to avoid being sucked in and fooled. Both Jackman and Bale exceed as the conjurors. Jackman appears more serious and grown up than he has in his previous roles , he becomes the aristocratic loner he’s portraying at a much deeper level than we’ve seen him before. Bale is almost the cheeky-chappy of the film, his sticks to his cocky accent well, has perfected his smirk and yet with each plot twist can suddenly become dark and unnerving.

   Michael Caine’s role is arguably downplayed too much as his character spends most of his time in the background. Yet his time he does spend on screen is spent is extremely emotive yet not over the top, as usual his voice over is charming and he’s the perfect narrator. 

   David Bowie and Scarlett Johansson make brief yet crucial appearances. Both are debatably wasted roles, with Bowie coming across as too bizarre and Johansson being used as a sex symbol; yet both are refreshing to watch and move the plot forward.

   I pledge that you should give this film your full attention, watch it closely and have your turn at guessing the grand prestige.  You won’t be disappointed.