Advantages: Great charecters, script. Disadvantages: Not much at all
From the director that brought us Memento and the two latest Batman films, Christopher Nolan excels himself with this dramatic thriller, The Prestige.
The Plot
The film begins with Michael Caine's character telling a young girl about a magic trick. Each magic trick has three parts, the Pledge, the Turn and then finally The Prestige.
The film follows two starting magicians, Angier and Borden. They start off as good friends but then turn into rivals when Angier's wife is killed in a magic trick that went wrong.
The two spend the film, trying to work out each other's secrets and ruin their tricks, eventually ruining their livelihood.
Borden then however discovers a trick, the ultimate trick. This trick makes Angier loose his mind trying to work out how the hell Borden does this trick.
The Characters
Hugh Jackman ...
Advantages: Expertly layered & constructed plot, great performances Disadvantages: Some may see the ending coming?
For a good year or so, this film was sitting on my shelf unloved and unwatched - when I was eventually drawn to it after I realised it had been directed by Christopher Nolan (of Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight ...), I discovered just what I'd been missing. For my money, this is simply an outstanding film in so many ways. A strong cast produce performances to match reputations while the plot twists and turns, skillfully keeping its secrets from the viewer. Stylistically too, The Prestige is a great success. It captures the look and feel of the era, when Magic, Trickery and Science were rather less distinct than we consider them now.
The "prestige" of the title alludes to the final act of the typical tripartite magic trick. First comes "the Pledge", in which the magician shows the audience something apparently quite regular ...
Advantages: A fresh story Disadvantages: Some female characters are dispatched without explanation
on the mad.
The plot doesn't follow the traditional timeline and indeed moves back and forth in the style of Memento but not in such an obvious way. Beginning at the end and working backwards then working forward again doesn't alway lend well to narrative, but with a close eye on detail, and a complete focus its a fairly simple plot that you will get should you lock the door, pull over the blinds and give it your full undivided attention. The last half hour is serpeantine-like as well, going in one direction, then suddenly directing you another way, before pulling back and offering another insight into the going ons. It is indeed a film about smoke, mirror and the art of illusion, the story itself presenting a fair amount of illusion to the viewer.
The look of the film is stunning, giving an air of mystery to a somewhat faceless London ...
![Kind Of Blue [Remastered] - Miles Davis](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/919/prod_small-41919.jpg)
