The Prestige

"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. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. 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.'" -- Cutter (Michael Caine)

When it comes to movies, I love being surprised, and it's stumbling across such unassuming-looking features as The Prestige that makes movie going such a pleasure. It also doesn't hurt that this intense, intricate film packs enough plot twists and unexpected developments for three movies during its two-hour running time.

We're somewhere in the late 19th century when we meet Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), two apprentice magicians about to split up forever after a performance of a standard illusion goes horribly wrong. Worse, the fallout from that night eventually entwines Angier and Borden together in a kind of eternal rivalry, with each man utterly comsumed with besting the other by whatever means necessary. Before long, the ever-increasing fits of vengeance and jealousy between the two men threaten to spiral completely out of control, especially after one of them develops and stages "The Transported Man," the greatest stage illusion of all.

Those who enjoy seeing revenge served up with true panache by two excellent actors at the top of their craft will find much to like here, as the mind games and one-upsmanship between the two magicians grow ever more diabolical (and just plain mean). Playing itself out with all of the theater and suspense a great showman brings to his magic act on stage, The Prestige is a wickedly fun ride that aims to keep you on your toes right up to the climax.

There is, however, one small catch to this experience: a point is reached in the narrative where the movie suddenly veers into the realm of the fantastical, and whether or not you allow yourself to make that leap with the characters will greatly impact on which side of the fence you'll be sitting when the credits roll (which is the only reason I docked this film a star). Personally, what allowed this startling development to work is that "magic" isn't really what The Prestige is about to begin with: this is a story about two men so consumed by jealousy and hatred that they're willing to sacrifice everything in their desire to ultimately "win" their personal contest.

I'm not going to talk about or hint any more about what happens during The Prestige for fear of wrecking the surprises awaiting you in this dark and fascinating film. Y'all are just gonna have to trust me on this one.


The Prestige rating 4/5