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Hello, everyone. Although I did plan to cover at least one Fourth of July-themed movie next, the subjects of both this review and the next one I had to add to the list at the last minute, as they were about to be removed from the services they were on, and I felt like it’d be better that I cover them now. These two had been among the endless list of movies I’ve been meaning to see, but haven’t gotten around to yet.
I’d definitely been meaning to see this one, as it comes from the director of my Most Anticipated Movie of 2020 (which hopefully still comes out this year), that being Tenet. With this one, not only had it been among the few movies of his that I hadn’t seen, but it also is actually the first of his movies to be covered here.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present my review of one of his more overlooked films, and that is Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige.
Set in 19th Century London, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden assist in a magic trick that results in personal tragedy. One blames the other for what happened, and upon starting their own careers as magicians, they become bitter rivals both professionally and personally.
Borden develops a particular trick that becomes so famous that Angier grows obsessed with discovering how he does it, and is determined to do it better.
In doing so, their rivalry drives them to one-up each other as they begin to slowly ruin their careers and even their lives.
What Worked: First of all, there is a great cast in this movie, all of whom give performances that, much like the movie itself, are often overlooked.
Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play Angier and Borden, respectively. In a way, it feels like they’re trying to one-up each other in terms of performances with these characters. They are both outstanding in this movie.
Frequent Nolan collaborator Michael Caine* plays their mentor, John Cutter, who engineers stage tricks. He is also fantastic in this.
The same is definitely true for Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe, who becomes Angier’s assistant.
It also is not their first time being in a movie about magicians. In her case, this was one of two in the same year she was in, and both times she worked with Hugh Jackman.**
Someone who is often overlooked in general is Rebecca Hall, who made her breakthrough with this movie. She plays Borden’s wife Sarah, and although she’s not in it that much, a lot of the key dramatic aspects of the story involve her.
There are two more actors who also play an important part in the narrative. Only one of them I can really talk about, though, because the other might be a bit of a spoiler. Even though both are only in the movie for a few minutes, they’re still really good in it.
I’ll just say this for the actor I’m refraining from bringing up here. He’s also a famous musician. I’m leaving it at that because for those who are interested upon reading this review, it’s best you go into this not knowing who it is.
Now for the one I can talk about, and that is Andy Serkis as Mr. Alley, who works for one of the other characters. Along with Rebecca Hall, I did not know he was in this going in, so it surprised me to see him. I also really liked him in this movie. He’s actually pretty funny.
Anyone familiar with his more famous roles, such as Caesar and Gollum, might be surprised to see him outside of a motion capture suit. He does show up physically on occasion, like when he played Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther. This is another example.
Then there’s the script, written by Christopher Nolan himself, along with his brother Jonathan (who in addition to co-writing a few of his movies, also created the TV series Person of Interest and most recently Westworld). It’s nothing short of brilliant.
It presents a very compelling story in a manner similar to how a magic act is performed. There are three parts: The Pledge (where you’re presented with an ordinary object or even a person), The Turn (where you see something extraordinary happen, and you’re trying to figure out how it happened), and then The Prestige (the hardest part, which is where you bring everything back around).
I thought that was very clever, because you’re also shown three different points in time, with each representing each part of an act.
Much like an act, it brings everything full circle, and how it does so is just as remarkable.
There are so many twists and turns in this movie that you can’t wait to see what surprises come next.
Then comes the biggest twist of all. It’s one of those twists that makes the movie more impactful if you go into it not knowing what it is.
You won’t see it coming.
The brilliance of the script also shows in Nolan’s direction, and it feels like he started to cement his status as one of the best filmmakers working today, but we just didn’t know it yet.
The experience is enhanced further through the gorgeous cinematography from Wally Pfister, a frequent collaborator of Nolan's at the time; one of several, in fact, that worked on this. Not only that, but also the production design is equally stunning.
What Didn’t Work: I only have a couple issues.
Although it is very well edited for the most part, I did feel there was a small pacing issue, particularly in the beginning of the movie. However, once the conflict starts, it really gets going and doesn’t let up.
The score from composer David Julyan, who worked with Christopher Nolan early on in his career on films like Memento, is not that memorable. It’s a shame, because he also scored The Descent (an excellent horror movie) and its sequel, and went on to score one of my favorite movies of the 2010s: The Cabin in the Woods.
Aside from those, that’s really it.
Overall: The Prestige is an excellent movie that sticks with you long after you see it, and it’s also one of those that really makes you think. I had heard that it is very overlooked when it comes to Christopher Nolan’s filmography, and now having finally seen it for myself, I completely understand.
It’s not just the movie itself that not many people talk about, either, as both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman deliver fantastic performances that also don’t get much attention.
Although they are the standouts, the performances all around are very good.
The story itself is compelling throughout, and seeing the conflict between Angier and Borden escalate over the course of the movie is just as engaging.
This is evidence that even with his earlier work, Christopher Nolan is a genius when it comes to creating the perfect balance between entertaining and thought provoking.
This is indeed one of his more complex films, so it may require multiple viewings to be able to catch some things you missed before. Though Inception might be more complicated because of how deep the story really goes, The Prestige isn’t too far off from that.
The main reason why something like this takes more than one viewing is because of how it is structured. As mentioned earlier, there are three different points in time, and it goes through each one. However, it’s not shown in the way you might expect, because it uses a nonlinear narrative approach. Memento and Dunkirk used this, too, but in different ways.
Having said that, it’s still entertaining enough to where you’ll want to revisit it because of how satisfying the experience is.
In recent years, it has received more attention, and it absolutely deserves to.
*They’ve worked on every film Christopher Nolan has directed since Batman Begins, which consist of: That movie, this one, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, Dunkirk (in which he had an uncredited role; you only hear his voice, and it’s very brief), and he’s also about to be in Tenet.
**And 2006 had three magician movies in one year.