Christopher Nolan’s, The Prestige, is yet another rock-solid validation to the director’s flawless metacinemtic creation skills. Nolan thoroughly exploits the notion that if you open a movie with a murder scene and a court trial, the audience sits through to find out the why(s) and the how(s). Nolan keeps the plot intriguing using flashbacks within flashbacks (his signature timeline manipulation style) to deepen the mystery and misdirect our attention. The Prestige is a thriller/mystery flick that will keep your eyeballs glued to the screen every minute of every second because it takes just that long for a magician to play his turn.
Oh, I must explain what ‘the turn’ is, you see, according to John Cutter, every magic trick has three parts. Part one is the ‘pledge’, where the magician shows you something ordinary, let’s say a bird. Now part two is the ‘turn’, where he does something extraordinary, like making the bird disappear. This get’s us to the interesting part three, the ‘prestige’, the climactic surprise that seals a successful trick, something like making the bird re-appear? That is when the audience applauds.
This 2006 release, based in 1800s London, is a story of rivalry, retribution and personal vendetta between two magicians. Angier and Borden, are fellow apprentices under Milton along with Angier’s wife, Julia. The feud between the two stems from an onstage killing thus igniting the desire for vengeance and later revamps into them duelling for superior showmanship and obsession of the other’s tricks; trying to outdo each other with newer, more ambitious illusions. And surely, they leave no stone unturned, from killing one’s wife to practically abducting one’s child, they did it all!
Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale have extensively invested themselves to get into the character’s mindset which allows them to blend into the 19th century background without trying hard to pretend to fit in. With Jackman’s ever-lasting charm and Bale’s manipulation of the complexity of his character, they brought the movie to justice. And as every magician needs a beautiful assistant to distract the audience while he plays his turn, Scarlett Johansson’s alluring presence was all that was lacking on that Victorian stage. Another brilliant casting of the movie is Michael Caine (John Cutter). His way of adding weight and depth to each dialog he delivers added admirably to the tension that lingered in the air throughout the 130 minutes of the movie.
I’d blindly rate this motion picture a 9 out of 10, missing the perfect score only for how the story gets a little out of reality bounds with the Tesla machine (you’ll know when you see it!). But, as the movie says, the final reveal in a magic trick is the most thrilling experience, Nolan has stuck to this principle for his movie too. The end – don’t worry I won’t give it away – relies on two major twists, one for each of the protagonists; something that will make you rethink the complete movie with a new mindset, reasoning and interpretation. Though only one of the two seemed clever and reasonable while the other can be termed a little bizarre and uncanny. But I’d leave that for you to decide. An incredibly dark but captivating movie. I say go fetch your favourite snack and start streaming already!
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