Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan reunites with Christian Bale to once again hit well-deserved box office gold with this spine-chilling psychological tale. The Prestige is one nail bitingly twisty thriller, but we're never lost to plot turns since the characters are a delectable mishmash of moral paradoxes and are more than able to hold the audience's attention.
Alfred Borden (Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) are rival magicians bitterly competing for nationwide renown in Victorian London. The film's non-linear narrative opens with the news of Angier's death in a horrific performance accident. Borden is accused of engineering the mishap and his subsequent trial and imprisonment intersect with the retelling of the two men's back-stories -- both began as apprentices of top magician Cutter (Michael Caine) before moving on to individual careers.
First and foremost, the movie engages wonderfully articulate metaphors. The pair's simpler magic tricks -- making a bird vanish, separating a chain of rings -- possess a lethal physicality, which can be seen in how Angier and Borden's mutual sabotage leads to their increasingly gruesome accident injuries. They foreshadow the kind of dangerous territory Angier will wander into -- that of the "wizard," or scientist, who "can actually do what magicians pretend to do." The building tension that escalates toward his ultimate downfall is paralleled by the increasingly complex tricks both magicians attempt to create and imitate. Before long, Angier, driven mad by obsession, is the essence of a man playing God when he forgets the illusory nature of magic and insists on being able to literally transport himself the way Borden appears to be able to do.
The Prestige is difficult to categorize because it is a murder mystery, but also more of a perplexing moral tale than a simple whodunit. Attempting to define the genre makes for an enjoyably challenging viewing experience. In a gripping cat-and-mouse game, Borden and Angier continually swap roles of victim and aggressor. It could have remained a fantastical tale based on the inexplicable delight an audience draws from the mysterious unearthing of an object appearing out of midair, because as Cutter intones, "Making something disappear isn't enough ... you need to bring it back." But with a fitting paradox, the film is frighteningly realistic in its portrayal of easily corruptible human nature. Borden's gradual transformation from ruthless experimenter to devoted father is in direct contrast to Angier's descent into performance megalomania. Yet it's impossible to decide who to root for, because both men ultimately fail to be sympathetic. Their physical charms draw beautiful women but cannot sustain meaningful relationships. Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), Angier's assistant and lover, betrays him to Borden in revenge against his clinically directing her to the enemy to work as a spy, while Borden loses his wife when he places craft before family.
The intricate plot is carried by an incredibly strong ensemble cast. Bale may be the only actor of his age who can infuse humanism while maintaining that maniacal glint in his eye. Jackman, as the gentlemanly counterpart, shifts between refined deportment and contorted rage with worthy dramatic timing. Caine can always be counted on to infuse majestic gravity and warmth into the most ludicrous of situations, while the woefully underrated Andy Serkis is spot-on as the scientist's assistant -- he plays the comic relief but never without the wry detachment that is chillingly reminiscent of the ruthless appetite for power that governs Angier.
The Prestige may not be Nolan's most original work, but it does effectively combine action, mystery and honest thematic musing into one rare and magical package.
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