The Prestige
by Cheeto
Posted on 18 August 2021
Rating -
The Prestige is a 2006 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Christopher Priest. It follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century. Obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, they engage in competitive one-upmanship, with fatal results.
I can’t believe as a Christopher Nolan superfan; that it took me so long to finally get down to watching this film. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not the biggest fan of magic, or that I didn’t really know what to expect from a film called ‘The Prestige’. Either way I’m an idiot; because I can’t believe I deprived myself of this film for so many years. It’s rather sad, I wouldn’t call this film underrated, but it has somewhat been overshadowed due to Nolan’s other great works.
First off, this film is brilliantly stylised, I absolutely love the Victorian setting. While I’m not the biggest fan of period pieces, I can appreciate how much detail this film goes into. This film screams Victorian London, and that’s exactly what it was going for.
I love the story to this film, it has that trademark Nolan complexity to it, while still being fascinating to follow. While a story about two friends having a falling out, only to become the worst of enemies; it isn’t exactly unique, Nolan throws in extra things into the mix to make it a fully unique premise. This film takes us through all of the emotions from sad (SPOILERS), when Robert’s wife dies, to happy, when Alfred has the final laugh. This film fully keeps you on your toes, making our eyes never want to leave the screen.
I think that Nolan picked the two best actors, in Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, to play our two main characters. Robert (Jackman) and Alfred (Bale), used to be the best of friends until a tragic accident makes them the worst of enemies. As the two magicians pursue careers in magic, they try and get one up over another, this eventually leads them to both start using the dirtiest of tactics, no matter the consequences. Jackman and Bale bounce off one another, this makes for a thrilling watch. I also think that Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson both put in great performances in supporting roles.
The only ‘negative’ about this film is that I believe that you need to watch this film more than once. This is because there’s almost multiple different storylines going on. Upon a second or third watch, you’ll still be picking up on new things that you may have missed out on previously. Of course this isn’t a real negative, it’s a positive, so that you can watch this amazing film again.
Overall, while this is Nolan’s ‘dark horse’ film, it’s gripping, riveting and captivating, and I urge anyone with half a brain to give this film a watch. Watch this one guys.
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