The Prestige (2006)--“A movie made without courage, without faith in the audience left me in as state of dull-eyed disgust,” says New York film critic David Benby in a memorable and insightful statement. Well, Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige places demands on the audience in return for a rip-roarin’ ride through the twists and turns of Victorian magic. In a sentence, this is the story of two rival magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) who is obsessed with being a great magician, and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) who is obsess with getting revenge on Borden for causing the death of his wife. The medium is, in part, the message, in that the film has three timelines going simultaneously. We’re long in the past watching the young magicians; we’re in the recent past watching Angier in America searching for a scientific explanation for Borden’s most amazing feat; and we’re in the Victorian present as Borden is tried for Angier’s death. The audience is also challenged because neither protagonist is a lovable hero. Angier is aristocratic, a showman, and relentlessly determined to avenge his wife’s death, until he cares more about revenge than the loss of his wife. Borden is working class and plodding in a bull-like way, and he has made magic his life. He is full of secrets. One day his devoted wife (Rebecca Hall in a perfect performance) finds he loves her; the next day she senses that he does not. What is going on? The audience is also challenged to guess the ending, which I certainly did not. To the film’s credit, it gave clues. As its motto states: “Watch closely.” I think the excellent acting, the complex narrative structure, the mystery, the behind-the-scenes look at magic, the Victorian atmosphere, and the clever plot twists—in sum, the challenges to the viewers—make this somewhat cold movie a winner.
Jim Bell