The Prestige Movie Review

Plot twists abound in Christopher Nolan’s new film, “The Prestige,” about dueling turn-of-the-20^th century magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) obsessed with outdoing each other’s impossible tricks.  The highly original screenplay by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, freely adapted from the novel by Christopher Priest, has the same three-act structure as a magic trick. In the opening sequence, the film’s narrator (Michael Caine) reminds us that ‘Every great magic trick has three acts’ which foretells the film’s complicated plot.  The first act is called The Pledge: the magician shows you something ordinary which probably isn’t. The second act is called The Turn. The magician makes his ordinary something do something extraordinary. The third act is called The Prestige. This is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you’ve never seen before.

Set in Victorian London during what’s considered the Golden Age of magic, the film begins near the end of the story then flashes back to where the rivalry first began between Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale) who were once apprentice magicians, allies and partners in the employ of another magician (a cameo by real-life magic expert Ricky Jay). When Robert’s wife, Julia (Piper Perabo) tragically drowns during one of their performances, Robert blames Alfred for tying a dangerous knot that made escape from a padlocked water tank impossible.  As time passes, each man goes on to build an illustrious career but the bad blood between them and their fierce competition and rivalry only get worse as they sabotage each other’s stage performances and plant spies in each other’s camps.

When Alfred develops an impressive trick called The Transported Man in which he mysteriously disappears through a door on one side of the stage only to instantly reappear through a door on the other side, Robert becomes obsessed with finding out how he does it.  His ingeneur or illusion designer, Cutter (Caine), is convinced it’s done with a double and proves it by replicating the trick for Robert using a drunken look-alike.  But Robert is not satisfied.  He surreptitiously acquires Alfred’s diary which he believes contains his most important magic secrets and travels to Colorado Springs to find the eccentric genius, Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), whom he’s convinced built Alfred’s Transporter machine.  Although Tesla’s magic is firmly grounded in science, he reluctantly agrees to build a Transporter for Robert. Andy Serkis appears in a brief cameo as Tesla’s witty assistant, Alley.

The vicious rivalry between Robert and Alfred knows no limits and affects everyone around them. Both men are deeply flawed and treat the significant people in their lives like little more than stage props in a magic show. Robert’s wife drowns while Alfred’s wife, Sarah (Rebecca Hall), sees her husband as a divided soul who loves her one day but not the next. She realizes that his first and greatest love will always be magic and their relationship will always take second place. She falls victim to his extreme moodiness and obsessive pursuit of perfection.  Robert engages an assistant, Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), who becomes his lover only to be sent by him to seduce and spy on Alfred and steal his secrets. Olivia finds herself incapable of playing such a duplicitous role. Instead, she tells Alfred the truth and becomes his lover. Robert and Alfred’s single-minded obsession becomes a deadly game of life and limb as both men take revenge to new heights. Their assistants only serve to further thicken the plot with their own agendas and deceptions.

Neither Robert nor Alfred is entirely likeable and our sympathies for them shift back and forth as jealousy and deceit consume their lives and fuel their violent one-upmanship. Robert knows how to work the audience with ease and panache.  Although he is the lesser magician, his natural stage presence and sleek showmanship more than make up for it although we sense his desperation. The brooding, working class Alfred lacks the great stage aura of his rival, but he is clearly a brilliant magician willing to take risks. He doesn’t care about the showmanship or about selling the trick, he simply cares about creating the most perfect illusion. Cutter is the one character who retains his inherent goodness, warmth, and humanity. His narration bookends the plot and reinforces its central themes. As the ingeneur, he bridges the gap between reality and illusion and provides the heart of the movie. Caine’s nuanced portrait allows us to have a point of view on the other characters without judging them too harshly.

Nolan has assembled a first-rate cast that delivers uniformly great performances in this fast-paced magic action thriller. Bale is fascinating to watch as he mines the dark depths of his enigmatic character. Jackman is equally compelling as he becomes consumed with exacting his revenge. With its many intricate and well crafted plot twists within a cleverly constructed script involving flashbacks within flashbacks, this is one film you need to watch closely to follow. The fun lies in figuring out how the Nolan Brothers did the trick. Their surprisingly deft, cinematic sleight of hand, using misdirection to distract the audience from what’s really happening, makes this Victorian magic act unique and highly entertaining.

The film’s production values are first rate and the effects are eye-popping, especially Tesla’s high voltage silver sphere with its crackling electrical arcs that transports animate and inanimate objects from one place to the next. Director of Photography Wally Pfister’s widescreen lensing, Nathan Crowley’s dark and moody production design, and Joan Bergin’s period appropriate costume design are top notch as are the contributions of magic advisors Ricky Jay and Michael Weber. David Julyan’s atmospheric score adds impact to Nolan’s suspenseful story.

“The Prestige” is a brilliantly crafted and seductive mystery about the power and lure of magic and illusion.  It’s intelligently written, well directed and told in a very intriguing and cinematic way.