Review: The Prestige

2006/PG-13/Drama

"Are you watching closely?"

You'll need to when watching this masterpiece. Christopher Nolan has yet again set himself apart when it comes to the new breed of directors. While this film is reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan, it would be an insult to Nolan to compare the two. After exploding on the scene with his time shifting Memento, Nolan proved he wasn't a flash in the pan with Insomnia which earned him the honor of directing everyone's favorite version of the Dark Knight: Batman Begins. While not quite attaining a Hitchcockian or Spielburgian level, Nolan isn't many rungs away on the ladder of directors.

I'm going to do my best to review this film without giving away any spoilers. It is that worth it. In interviews, Nolan claimed this film didn't really have a genre. He couldn't be more wrong [and frankly, it made me a little disappointed that he didn't recognize the bullseye he'd struck when so many other directors miss the target entirely when aiming for this genre (Yours truly included)] The Prestige is a fantastic example of a Film Noir.

Set in turn of the century London, two rival magicians attempt to make each other disappear. So, what makes this a Film Noir? The Anti-Hero is a requirement for a Film Noir. Nolan executed this aspect so perfectly that it's nearly impossible to determine which magician is our hero! Is it the one bent on revenge? Or the one who mistakenly wronged him? Is it the one setting London a-buzz with his impossible new trick? Or the one spending all he has trying to steal it? Is it the one who's dead? Or the one accused of his murder? (Trust me, I've given nothing away that we don't learn in the first 2 minutes of the film). During the course of the film I found it difficult to empathize with either character. Only one other author has told a story where I was unable to root for one side or the other: Shakespeare.

A Film Noir is characterized by plot twists, changes in alliances, and mistaken identity. The Prestige has all of these. Not only that, but the film manages to weave them into the story in such a way that they aren't forced, unbelievable, or contrived. This is the hardest thing to do with these types of plot points.

The Femme Fatale is a staple of the Film Noir. Scarlett Johansson portrays the woman caught between these to masters of illusion. Whose side is she on? With most Film Noirs the Femme Fatale is out for her own interests. No spoilers here.

Nolan is partially forgiven for the "written and directed by" status that he allowed for two reasons: It's an adaptation from a book. Because it is not his original story it isn't a pure "W&DB." Second, he had a co-writer. Two heads are better than one. In actuality, this film had three: The original author, the co-writer, and the director.

Part of the beauty of this film is the changes in time, like most of Nolan's films this story is not told in a linear fashion. However, unlike Nolan's independent movie Following, where the non-linear timeline was pointless and contrived, his use of the technique in The Prestige adds another level of tension, drama, and insight. Don't confuse what I'm praising as flashbacks. There is a difference between non-linear storytelling and inserting a moment from the past in a linear narrative.

One of the major themes of the movie is said very early on:

"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man... The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."

There are a few faults in this film. Several times we are asked if we are "watching closely." We are told that we "don't want to find the secret." We are fooled right along with most of the other characters (only three know one "truth," only 2 know the other). The problem is that Nolan, unlike Shyamalyn (Sixth Sense? Figured it out. The Village? Got it from the previews.), does not give enough clues for the audience to decipher what the "Prestige" of the movie is. Truth be told, there were a few hidden elements that were unveiled at the end of the film, but one was the catalyst to the story and that one was not sufficiently revealed throughout the story.

The other difficulty that I had revolved around the specifics of the trick "The Transported Man." I'm not going to go into it because it'll ruin that aspect of the film. Just take my word for it: there wasn't enough thought put in to certain discontinuities, let's call them.

As soon as this movie was over, I wanted to watch it again. With more twists than taffy and fantastic performances by Jackman, Bale, Johansson and Caine, (Even David Bowie put forth a commendable effort) The Prestige ranks right up there with The Usual Suspects and Twelve Monkeys.

The second viewing was lacking, however, because of the sheer lack of nods to the major twist of the movie.

Overall, though:

4.75 out of 5.