The Prestige

I can't remember the last time I was so enraptured by a film. Perhaps since Kill Bill. The Prestige delivers on so many levels - acting, cinematography, story, and depth. It is a film about the dark descent into the obsesseive psychosis of human nature.

First, let's discuss the two main characters. Hugh Jackman lights up any scene he's in. It must be the sheer intensity and wattage of his performance, because I don't think it's just his pretty looks. Christian Bale, he's also magnetic and hard to not pay attention to. Something about him seems a bit shifty, a bit sly, a bit hard to read. I think it's a natural quality about him but for this role, he's completely the master of his domain. The two main guys play off their character contrasts convincingly, with conviction. The supporting cast, notably Scarlett and Michael, did a brilliant job. All the women were more than simple garnishes to the main course and filled out their roles nicely.

The other part was the constant suspense. This film being about a rivalry between two magicians turns it into a bit of a horror flick in the sense that you know something bad is going to happen to one or the other next but you don't know what it is. You keep waiting and waiting, dreading and unable to tear your eyes off the screen nonetheless. The genius of the film is that neither main character was singled out to be the "good" or the "bad" one, the roles are moralistically much more complex. It had more of a karmic resonance to the film, where you can see the causal links and chain of events.

The plot of the story was not too difficult to follow, but the editing of the film did not follow a straight linear chronological progression. The back and forth flashbacks were done just enough to illuminate certain critical elements of the story, while slyly and coyly holding back on the rest. Other critics have called the movie itself a magic act and I couldn't agree more. Nothing is better in a movie like this than the final stunning finale and this being a film by Christopher Nolan, one can expect no less.