Dueling magicians play their tricks on one another.
Tired of mediocre horror films and generic, romantic drivel? Don't give up on Hollywood yet; try
The Prestige
. Summer was tough for cinema. Only a few weeks ago, box office numbers took a dive, the depths of which have not been experienced for years. Martin Scorsese's riveting work
The Departed
helped steady the ship, and here to put
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more wind in the sails is Christopher Nolan's newest sleight of hand, featuring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as two dueling easy-on-the-eyes magicians.
The word "magician" may evoke thoughts of another recent success,
The Illusionist
, starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. Make no mistake, where
The Illusionist
was a fanciful fairy tale of love and happy endings,
The Prestige
is courtesy of the Brothers Grimm or, in this case, the Brothers Nolan.
Written by Christopher Nolan (director of
Batman Begins
and
Memento
) and his brother Jonathan, the film, set in Victorian London, is an exploration of obsession and stratagem in which even the sepia tones are used as devices of trickery. Bale's character, Alfred Borden, protects the secret of his greatest magic trick, in which he opens one door and emerges 10 feet away, by throwing just the right amount of shading on something as plain as day. He professes that it is not the complexity of the secret that baffles but the ability to keep it hidden, a lesson the Nolans successfully employ.
Borden's feat, dubbed "The Transported Man," and his subsequent fame incense his rival, Robert Angier (Jackman). Angier, believing Borden is responsible for the death of his wife during a magic trick, goes to unspeakable lengths to outdo the blue-collar Cockney.
In a search for Borden's secrets, Angier tracks down the renowned scientist Nikola Tesla, a wizard played with intricate
melancholy by David Bowie. Mechanization becomes real magic in a
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field of oversized light bulbs set aglow without wires. The reclusive inventor, Tesla, knowingly explains that obsession will both make and ruin a man, forcing one into a slavery of isolation. His words become all too true as Angier turns away his love, Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), and Borden's concealed life drives his wife to the end of her days.
The Nolans enhance suspense and wonder by weaving together timelines, a trick they learned so well in
Memento
. The film begins with Borden in disguise at a magic show. He sneaks backstage to find the magician Angier drowning in a glass vat of water. Imprisoned for the murder, he receives Angier's diary revealing the history between the two through flashbacks, intercut with the unfolding present.
Shot in low light with a shallow depth of field, the film's cinematography is impeccably suited to obscure the hidden devices behind Angier's and Borden's magical feats. The surly reality of each man's success is hidden by a filmy curtain of buttery tones, smoke and mirrors.
Bale is captivating as a man of natural talents from the wrong side of the tracks, his distaste for flashy showmanship counterbalanced by pure tenacity. As a young magician, Angier is jealous of Borden's ability to discover the devices of other magicians. Angier relies on a professional magician's aide, Cutter (Michael Caine), to construct his tricks and manage his operation. A man of hidden means, Jackman's Angier exhibits a stifling air of entitlement. Accused early on of being incapable of getting his hands dirty, his secret is one of the most gruesome of all. Johansson redeems herself of her dubious showing in
The Black Dahlia
with her tempting and perceptive performance as a magician's assistant and lover to both men.
The Prestige
is a solid film that intrigues and entertains. The Nolans' characters are enthralling and enigmatic, the story a dark and haunting flight into the unknown.
