Director: Christopher Nolan
Format: DVD
DVD Features: making of, Tesla documentary, featurettes, art galleries, trailers
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christopher Bale, Scarlett Johansson, Miachael Caine
Trailer
Since the end of February, my father and I have been on an Oscar movie kick. Not surprising, as The Academy Awards is, after all, one huge advertising campaign. The Prestige is our fourth movie in the last two weeks that earned a nomination for 2006. It was nominated for best Art Direction (Nathan Crowley) and Set Decoration (Julie Ochipinti). The award, however, was lost to Pan’s Labyrinth.
In The Prestige, Hugh Jackman and Christopher Bale play two talented magicians who begin their careers as colleagues. A bitter rivalry is sparked between the two after one trick goes disastrously awry. After they go their separate ways, their careers begin to take off, each man competing to pull off the more impressive trick, while jealously guarding his secrets. Friends, wives, lovers and money all char in the fire of this obsession.
With a name like “The Prestige” the movie sounds more likely to be about a Harvard scholar or a Military commander; not about a magic act. According to the film, the prestige is the final piece of any trick – the part where objects reappear. Of course, the plot revolves around each magician performing disappearing and reappearing acts of one form or another. The problem is, after a while, it becomes tiresome watching the same trick repetitively. When the plot twists initially, it’s to be expected and a little amusing. When the plot twists the third or fourth time, it becomes tiresome and a bit insulting.
The cast is full of familiar faces. Michael Caine plays Cutter, the early mentor of both magicians and the long term supporter of Angier (Jackman). Scarlett Johansson is Olivia, the stage girl who gets tossed back and forth between the two men. Don’t miss David Bowie as the renowned scientist Nikola Tesla. Tesla’s assistant, Alley, might even be familiar, but I won’t give that one away. Each of the cast members gives a solid, although not astounding, performance. (and yes, we get to see Hugh Jackman with his shirt off)
The set designs and atmosphere of the movie were very nicely constructed. The best shots by the cinematographer in the film were in the field of lights scene. The atmosphere was completely believable and the costuming seemed authentic. It’s only because the fantasy realm of Pan’s Labyrinth lent itself more easily to impressive costuming that it won the Academy over The Prestige.
I would have been much more impressed with this film, had I not seen The Illusionist first. For two movies so close in theme and period, it’s amazing how much one sparkles more than the other. I didn’t feel the same emotional connection to the characters in The Prestige. I didn’t become breathless waiting for the next act. Suspiciously similar is the point in either movie wherein the magician elects to shut out his normal stage crew in favor of a gang of blind men (as in The Prestige) or a cluster of foreigners (as in The Illusionist). It makes me curious as to what the profession was actually like during the time period these two movies imitate. Did the filmmakers spy on each other, like the magicians in The Prestige, to learn each other’s secrets?
Overall Rating: 3
Hottie Rating: 2 (Jackman)
Alternate Viewing: The Illusionist
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Stylus review
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