11.03.2006

The Prestige review

Before all the highly anticipated films of November and December start coming out, let me tell you about the best film October had to offer. The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan, stars Hugh Jackman (Wolverine from X-Men) and Christian Bale (Batman) as two competing magicians during the early 1900s. A while back I reviewed The Illusionist and was mildly surprised to find that I enjoyed it. However, I had a hunch that The Prestige was going to be better and more fun to sit through; I was right.
Nolan's magical mystery shows a dark side to all of the onstage fun and showmanship of being a magician. Secrets and betrayal run rampant, lives are ruined, friends and loved ones suffer from the dedication these men have for their craft. Supporting roles from Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie add much flavor to the narrative but Jackman and Bale are the keys to what makes this film so engaging.
I can't say much about the story because I feel you should know as little as possible before seeing it but I will say this: pay attention; the opening lines of "are you watching closely?" are more important than you realize. If you catch yourself thinking about your shopping list or something during the movie you may miss something important and get totally lost; keep up and you will be rewarded. Go see The Prestige, It's on my short list of my favorite films of the year with A Scanner Darkly and Little Miss Sunshine.

1 comment:

Richard said...

Loved it as well.
Such a great movie, cast was really good, story brilliant - despite a little science quackery. But some critics didn't seem to understand - it's a cyberpunk sci-fi fantasy. Just because it's set in the past it doesn't have to be fact!

Definitely a film of the year.