"The Prestige" - 11.14.06
First review I wrote for Access Brighton, a student magazine. (Unedited version.)

The Prestige, based off the novel by Christopher Priest. Set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century London, stage magicians enjoy great popularity. After a horrible on-stage tragedy shatters their friendship, former colleagues Robert Angier and Alfred Borden become bitter rivals, both men obsessed with their craft and their ever-intensifying competition.

The film opens with the surreal and strangely beautiful scene of countless glossy top hats strewn across piles of leaves. From this intriguing moment, we know we're in for some impressive imagery and unusual surprises... but it only gets better from there.

In a brilliant manipulation of narrative, director Christopher Nolan take several storylines, chops them up, and then weaves them together again - somehow crafting a seamless whole that, though never confusing, requires full engagement from the audience. But it's an engagement we're eager to participate in. The lavish attention to detail and atmosphere, beautiful costumes, and convincing settings create a realistic and wholly believable world, all gorgeous sepia tones and bustling crowds. And of course, the stellar cast keeps our attention riveted: as the two leads, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale provide intense performances as Robert and Alfred, respectively. Our sympathies flicker back and forth between the two, as we catch glimpses of both hero and villain in the two characters. Far from confounding, this ambiguity gives the characters and the film its greatest strength; like the magic acts of the stage performers, we're never quite sure what is true and what we should believe.

The other actors are certainly good, though not especially outstanding - which, in a way, is quite acceptable, as they support but do not outshine the main two characters. Michael Caine gives a very solid, if somewhat unremarkable turn, as John Cutter, the stage assistant who acts as a cross between Bruce Wayne's confidant Alfred and James Bond's gadget man Q. The much-hyped Scarlett Johansson and the virtually ignored Rebecca Hall both give decent performances as the women caught up amid the rivalry, highlighting some of the more personal effects on the men. Andy Serkis and David Bowie (as famous inventor Nikolai Tesla) round out the cast as scientists who bring a different sort of magic to the stage, and it's a welcome surprise to see that there's little fuss made about the latter; Bowie is not played up as a novelty, but simply contributes the restrained charisma of his portrayal.

But mostly, the dazzle of this film is the deft sleight-of-hand in its construction. Nolan, obviously taking notes from his innovation storytelling in Momento, uses a disrupted chronology and layered narration to simultaneously guide and mislead us through the intertwining plots, keeping us guessing as we follow the action past and present. It's a highly entertaining film, rich with sumptuous visuals and textured with emotion - but scarcely a dry period piece or an overwrought melodrama. Unlike the earlier The Illusionist, to which it will undoubtedly be compared, darkly elegant The Prestige keeps its pace brisk and its action taut, resulting in a satisfyingly complex and well-crafted movie.