The Prestige

Rated PG-13 for: Violence and Disturbing Images
Running Time: 2 hrs., 8 min.
Starring: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson

Rating: Three stars [out of four]

On DVD now


"The Prestige" is just what it says it is. It tells you, right up front, that it has a secret. It almost dares you to figure out what that secret is. It is, just like its subject, a terrific magic trick. Unlike most magic tricks, however, "The Prestige" fully intends on revealing all its secrets in the end. Getting there, however, is one hell of a strange trip.

Christian Bale [Batman Begins] stars as Alfred Borden, a magician in turn of the 20th-century London who is an amazing illusionist but not a very good showman. His friend, Robert Angier [the amazingly versatile Hugh Jackman] is a terrific showman but not as accomplished a magician as Borden.

The two start off as friends, but that changes very quickly once a magic trick gone wrong results in death, and soon Borden and Angier become bitter rivals. Both men become obsessed with finding out the secrets behind the other man's tricks, and sabotaging the other. Their rivalry escalates into terrible consequences that neither of them bargained for.

Michael Caine does a great job here, as always. He plays John Cutter, a stage engineer who designs all of Angier's tricks, and finds himself in the middle of the rivalry.

The film works in the same manner as a magic trick, as described in the film by Caine. There are three parts to a magic trick: "the pledge," where the audience sees something that appears to be ordinary but is probably not. Then there's "the turn," where the magician makes the ordinary act extraordinary. Finally, there's "the presige," where, as the film puts it, there are "twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance and you see something shocking you've never seen before."

For the first time in a very long time, I can actually say that the movie lives up to its own ambitions. This is, by far, the most original and creative film I have seen in a long, long time. I can't for the life of me think of any film that I can even compare it to. It's a complete breath of fresh air.

And, just like "Memento," it's a film you'll have to watch multiple times to completely wrap your head around.

Credit that to the brilliance of writer Jonathan Nolan and director Christopher Nolan, whose "Memento" was easily the most creative, original and breathtaking movie of the last few years. Of course, none of this would be possible without the source material, and all credit there must go to Christopher Priest, whose book the film is based on.

The film twists and turns and builds to a climax that it dares you to see coming. And that's the really wonderful thing here- Nolan is having fun with the audience. He wants you to try and figure it out. He leaves hints, clues, pieces to the puzzle. Once you know how it all comes together, you'll want to throw the disc back in and watch it all over again, to see how he did the trick. It truly does resemble a great magic trick in and of itself.

"The Prestige" may not be the best film around, but it's certainily very enjoyable. The aforementioned twists; the wonderful grand scheme to it all; the performances; the visuals- they all come together to form something unlike anything you've seen before. And in a world of Hollywood retreads, isn't that alone reason enough to spend two hours with "The Prestige"?

Just remember: watch closely.