The Prestige

When: 2006, Bale's 32nd film

Genre: Suspense, Historical

Kate says this was definitely one of those "I have to see it to be a disciple of popular culture" movies. The Prestige came out at the same time as The Illusionist. Since I detest the latter movie, I wasn't 100% committed to seeing the former.

It is a better movie than The Illusionist, partly due to its cast. Despite his uneven choice of roles, I quite like Hugh Jackman. It's nice to see Caine and Bale reunited. And hey, what with Avengers, I now know who Scarlett Johansson is! (At the risk of losing my popular culture discipleship status, I admit not knowing who she was before Avengers.)

However, the stellar bit parts are what make the movie truly stand out: William Morgan Sheppard, Roger Rees, Edward Hibbert. David Bowie and Andy Serkis blow the movie out of the water!

I also thought The Prestige more thematically consistent than The Illusionist. At the end of The Illusionist, I felt like I was supposed to be impressed by the "trick" ending; the lovers were the heroes. I wasn't impressed, and I thought the lovers were schmucks.

At the end of The Prestige, on the other hand, the first thing that popped into my head wasn't the characters but the pigeon trick. Throughout the entire movie, the two magicians are trying to uncover the ultimate pigeon trick, only Borden is ultimately more willing than Angier to make the pigeon's sacrifice up close and personal while Angier always keeps the pigeon at one remove.

Neither of them is really hero material, but, unlike with The Illusionist, I didn't feel like I was asked to consider them heroes. It was more "hey, here's this story about these crazy obsessed guys; hmmm, what will they do next?"

Although movies without heroes are difficult to watch, I found The Prestige engaging (despite being over two hours long). My engagement was helped by Borden's complexity. As a character study, Borden becomes interesting in his own right while Angier remains a little flat. I suspect this is partly the writing; mostly, Bale is a better actor than Jackman.

In fact, Bale is the kind of actor who makes a role look easy. I think this is the definition of a true expert/artist. An ice-skater or writer or gymnast or actor or director who makes you see all the SWEAT AND TEARS AND ANGST that he/she endured isn't doing the job right;  but an ice-skater or writer or gymnast or actor or director who makes you think, "Oh, I could do that," has actually, well, pulled off a pretty good magic trick.


Mike says the most impressive thing about The Prestige is how the story follows the pattern of the magic trick. The big reveal at the end of the film is The Prestige of the magic trick that is the film. I don't usually enjoy movies with no heroes, but the structure of the film is masterful, and along with the beautiful cinematography, I get pulled into the world of the film.

I'm not sure why I'm having a hard time writing this review.  It may just be because my most recent viewing was jaded by a crying baby and a crazy four-year-old.  As a result my enthusiasm was a bit muted.

Despite this, I really enjoy the movie. I especially love the idea of using historical figures in the backdrop of science and magic.  The pure awesomeness of using Tesla is only enhanced by the amazing performance of David Bowie. Jackman's tragic character is portrayed well, but I agree with Kate that Bale gives the far more complex performance, especially considering that he's playing twins.

This film also completely meshes with Bale's resume, as it's a complex dramatic role that requires some physical preparation (10 bucks says he took a few weeks of magic training to get ready for the role).  The film is also classic of the directer, Nolan, as the pacing and the multi-layered structure of the film are his trademark.

While I don't mind The Illusionist, I find the Prestige a far stronger movie.  I'm just never sure who to recommend it to!

SPOILERS:

Kate says the first surprise ending did not surprise me. I actually figured out Borden had a double about 1/2 way through the movie--which, by the way, is completely unlike me (I didn't even guess the ending of The Sixth Sense). To me the most interesting question, that the movie never answers, was, "How did Borden earn so much affection from his alter-ego? Why wasn't he betrayed? What is the difference between Angier and Borden that would make it so Borden didn't have to kill his double?"

The second surprise ending totally surprised me; I thought Tesla's equipment would turn out to be another trick. (Tesla would turn out to be the ultimate magician.) That the equipment actually worked seemed a little out-of-sync with the rest of the movie since nothing else in the movie suggested a sci-fi pay-off (it is possible that it was set up, something I would catch during a second viewing). However, it did perfectly underscore the pigeon theme.

Thinking it over, the story really is Angier's and what leads him to stray so far from normal morality--but Borden is so much stronger a character, Angier-as-main-character gets lost. 

Mike says the sci-fi twist in the film is what makes it for me . . . even better is that I feel it was totally set up;  in fact the first image of the film is the duplicated hats and cats.  The further demonstration of Tesla's abilities gradually inch the viewer towards believing something outrageous.

The revelation also heavily reinforces the plot;  not just the bird trick as Kate implied, but the sub-theme of secrets and their disappointing nature. Angier could not accept the simplicity of Borden's secret.  In the end he found a miraculously complex secret of his own . . . though it came at a price.

The irony of the piece is that if you watch the film closely, you find that Angier's quest to have his own reward (without sacrificing his applause by using a double) is that the original Angier dies after the first initial performance--the original stays in the booth; the double is the one who appears some distance away.  In the end, Angier never got his reward . . . it was lost to a double after all.

Something that I only just realized recently is the set-up to Angier being a duke (or was it a count?).  Early in the film he talks to his wife about changing his name for his family's sake . . . and in the end he tells Borden that he was always the Duke.  It's a hidden wrinkle that doesn't stick out perhaps as strongly as it was meant to.