THE PRESTIGE

 

 

 

"I need to know his secret"

Once working of the same magician, Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale) both had plans to become the most famous illusionists in 1890s London. After tragedy struck during a trick, the two friends parted ways and started their own career and a bitter rivalry built on hate and jealous drove them to perform bigger and better tricks. As the one-upmanship continued, Borden revealed his most imaginative creation, the Transported Man, driving Angier to new depths to discover his rival's secret.

British director Christopher Nolan's raise to Hollywood greatness has been one built on a stable foundation of story, characters and performance but can 'The Prestige' inject a little bit more magic into that winning formula?

After both critical and commercial success with 'Memento', 'Insomnia' and 'Batman Begins', people are taking notice of the talented British director. So when he announced that he and screenwriting brother Jonathan Nolan where adapting Christopher Priest's best selling novel and Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale were involved, you couldn't help but get excited. The great news is that Nolan and his creative team have proved again that they are masters of their craft.

Magic and magicians have fascinated audiences for centuries and where the most famous performers in the world until movies came along. These were extremely competitive people who strived to create the most wondrous and astounding illusions that would mesmerise audiences around the world. They would risk life and limb, pushing themselves to the very limit of their skill and their body's endurance to create tricks that would dumbfound audiences and fill theatres with the sound of applause. Now imagine if two magicians moved competitiveness into a bitter rivalry that would not only threaten their own lives but that of everyone who knows them.

Told in flashback from both Robert Angier and Alfred Borden point of view as they both read each other's diaries, the story twists and turns as one magician discovers one secret the other creates another. The story surrounds Angier obsession in with discovering the secret of Borden's 'Transported Man' trick and the lengths he will go to, to discover the secret. Borden is also obsessed with keeping one step ahead of his rival and he is ready to sacrifice everything to stay in front. As their rivalry intensifies the audience grows however and the two become the most popular magicians in London.

The twisting and turning narrative structure of the piece will be familiar to any fans of 'Memento', as Nolan jumps around the timeline building to a conclusion that will shock and amaze just as much as any illusion. He skilfully introduces all of the clues you need to figure out what is going out but you will have to take everything in to completely figure out the mesmerising ending that shows how far obsession can drive a rivalry.

The performances are first rate. Hugh Jackman is best known for his blockbuster performances in 'Swordfish', 'Van Helsing' and of course as Wolverine in the 'X-Men' franchise, but he is also an award winning stage actor and this presence comes to bear in this movie. As Robert Angier, he is the showman on the stage and a driven obsessive off and this gives Jackman the chance to show how talented he really is. Christian Bale's careers goes from strength to strength as he shows again that he is the consummate actor. In his second collaboration with the director, he creates another memorable character playing perfectionist Alfred Borden who is striving to be the greatest. The supporting cast is equally as good with consummate performances from Sir Michael Caine as Angier's illusionaire, David Bowie as Nikolas Tesla and Andy Serkis as Tesla's assistant Alley. The extremely beautiful Scarlett Johansson is as good as ever as the glamorous assistant Olivia Wenscombe, Piper Perabo is good as Julia Angier and newcomer Rebecca Hall gets herself noticed as Sarah Borden.

'The Prestige' is exceptional entertainment, proving again that Christopher Nolan is one of the best filmmakers working in the industry today. While this is a movie that you really have to watch to get the most out of, the devotion to detail and the numerous twists and turns will have you enthralled until the astonishing prestige (finale). This film is Hollywood magic at its very best and Nolan and his team will definitely have you saying abracadabra.

Memento

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2006