Movie Review by EDF
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Christopher Nolan
Ever wondered what mysteries and secrets a magician might hold up their sleeve? How far would you go to find out what their secrets are and would you try to top their act? These are some of the questions and a lot more asked in THE PRESTIGE where two magicians become deadly enemies in a battle to out do the other.
Set in the Victorian era, under the watchful eye of Cutter (Michael Cane), the top magic act performed is for Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) to ask a member of the audience Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) to bind the hands of his assistant / wife who is then hoisted into a tank of water and must escape. Borden, who likes to change the rope knot every so often, does so one evening when Angier’s wife fails to escape and dies in the watery tank.
Poised for revenge, Angier first tries to kill Borden and once that attempt fails, he tries to figure out how Borden’s latest magic masterpiece is executed. The trick is that Borden enters a closed box at one side of the stage and instantaneously reappears out from the second box located at the other side of the stage. Convinced that Borden is using a double, Angier goes all out to construct a bigger and better version of Borden’s trick, and recruits a drunken actor to double for Angier to make the trick work. Borden then goes all out to trash Angier’s version of his trick. How far will either man go to show that they are the best magician and who else will be hurt by this rivalry / revenge?
THE PRESTIGE has a lot in common with MEMENTO in story telling structure and the atmosphere of INSOMNIA. In fact, the story is being told from different time points in the story and this turns into an entertaining jigsaw that once you understand it, this is one of the most enjoyable, intelligent movies that will have the audience guessing until the very end as to what is actually happening.
