The Prestige (2006)

(In Michael Caine's Voice) Every reviews consist of three parts;

The first is the Pledge, the reviewer shows you a movie, what appears to be of an ordinary title with an interesting poster and a trailer, and maybe it comes with a brief summary of the story.

The second is the Turn, the reviewer takes what you know about the movie and tells you about his opinion from his background and insights of the movie, turning the movie into something extraordinary.

The third and the last act is called the Prestige, where you wouldn't clap yet until after you've sat down and watched the movie.


Takes place in the beginning of the 20th century, The Prestige, adapted from the book of the same name by Christopher Priest, is a story that follows two magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden and their rivalry and obsession for the best magic act that has led to them to destroy their lives and the lives of people around them. Directed by Christopher Nolan, this movie stars Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, Michael Caine as Cutter, Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe, David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, Andy Serkis as Alley and Rebecca Hall as Sarah Borden.

This movie is truly a work of a genius. It is very neatly crafted, cut and almost beautifully poured itself out of the screen that make this film truly one of the finest I've ever seen. All the cast in the film gave their best performances, especially to the three heavyweight Hollywood actors; Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine. But this movie ultimately belongs to Christopher Nolan, he is the artist behind this artwork. Christopher Nolan proved himself to be one of the top filmmakers of our time.

There's a lot to be appreciated in this film, particularly the themes that is played out in the film. The broad theme that is played out in the film is the three part of the Magician's Act. Narrated by Michael Caine in the beginning of the film, the act involves the Pledge; where the Magician shows you something ordinary, The Turn; where the Magician takes the ordinary object to do something extraordinary, and The Prestige; where the Magician then brings back the ordinary object to the way it was, which in a disappearing act means to make it reappear again. To the magician, the Prestige is what mattered most. Watch closely, as the theme involved more than just making a bird disappear and reappear again as performed by Michael Caine in the beginning of the film, but it stretches out to Transported Man trick performed by both Robert and Alfred and it also goes further to reflect much of their lives during the course of the film. The tricks performed in the film goes more than just impressing audiences, but they convey a much larger message in regards to the film.


Underlying Message?
Another theme being used in the film was sacrifice. How much would a Magician sacrifice to bring forth a good trick? The theme is more than just a Chinese Magician performing the Fish Bowl appearing trick as a result of pretending to be cripple for the rest of his life,but it also reflects how much would Robert and Alfred sacrifice for their perfection of their tricks, to what extend would they go to reach for it and how others would suffer because of it. Other theme involved were obsessions, duality and many more which I probably did get to catch which need to be watched closely.


Chung Ling Soo performing the fishbowl trick
The characters in the film were very well developed. Each character's relationship played a huge role in the movie and each character's development progressed very well as a result from events in the film. Robert and Alfred's character is meant to be studied and contrasted. Robert's character fell from "not wanting to harm a bird" in his tricks to "getting his hands dirty" for the perfection of his tricks. Alfred, however, was very much devoted to magic that his wife, Sarah and his daughter began to suffer at his expense of keeping his secrets. The rivalry between Robert and Alfred escalated in tension from one event after another, which ended with their lives being at stakes. Characters such as Nikola Tesla, were used to strengthen Robert's obsession, and very much parallels Robert himself. And his story behind his rivalry with Thomas Edison reflected Robert's rivalry with Alfred. However, Fallon, despite appearing almost insignificant, will be revealed to have a greater role than you might expect. As for Cutter, he plays the role of a guide and a father-like figure to Robert.


"I love you"


The Professor


Olivia
Another aspect of the film that I would praise, that I believe it's the stroke of Christopher Nolan's genius is the second-replay value. After having gone through the first run of the show, you'll be expose to an interesting twist and revelation in the end. And if you were to watch again, with the revelation in your mind, you're then invited by Christian Bale in the beginning of the film, "Are you watching closely?" The non-linear narrative would then make much sense, as well as certain key scenes begin to impress on you much heavier than it did before.


"You caught me in the wrong mood last week"



So, if you have already watched it on the first run, do watch it again.

Overall, this film is truly a work of art that really stands out from other films. This is one of those films that you requires you to watch closely (couldn't have been emphasized enough by Christian Bale) and take some time to think over it over the themes, and only then can you appreciate it as it is. I would praise the films for its execution of its theme in various levels and the great replay value it offers. These, I believe, are the film's strongest points. The minor setback really is the non-linear narrative which can be difficult initially to understand and place which event came first and which one came later. But watching it a second time pretty much fixed that properly. I would give this film a 10 out of 10 no-ordinary rubber balls.

So, like I was saying....


The Pledge


The Turn


The Prestige (The scene that follows this)