The Illusionist's Enigma: A Review of 'The Prestige'
: The Prestige depicts the bitter rivalry between two magicians, Alfred Borden, and Robert Angier in the florid magical context of 19th century London. This turns into rivalry over the greatest magic trick called, The Transported Man. The movie progresses through a cycle of hopes, betrayals, cold-blooded plots and dramatic twists that excite the audience up to the final scene. In a moody outlook, Christopher Nolan builds up the cinematic universe where the thin line of difference is created between actuality and imagination. In this vein, the film raises its key philosophical proposal of the price of obsession and the nature of acceptable losses: ‘What are you willing to give for success? This is so achieved through careful construction of an air of mystery and suspense, especially through the gothic revival period setting to the psychological ‘warfare’ between the two protagonists.
Both protagonists Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman provide power packed performances as the two magicians who are bitter rivals. Bale goes for cold logic and secrecy with the character of Borden as opposed to fire and temper in Angier played by Jackman. The on-screen rivalry is electric and quite pal-puckeringly watchable … the chemistry is electric and therefore it is rich in creating the desired interplay on the screen. Cutter, the ingénieur, played by Michael Caine, contributes a reliable supporting character and experience to the characters’ palette. There is substance from Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall on the personal consequences part.
As always, Christopher Nolan does a great job in handling multiple story lines and multiple time frames. His handling of tension and suspense to sustain the tension to the end is well done but the flow of the events in the story is well handled. The ambiguity itself is noticeable since Nolan’s vision makes ‘The Prestige’ a thought-provoking film where the audience is challenged to think about the difference between reality and a performance.
The movie’s score by David Julyan adds to the film’s psychological aspect. It enriches the film’s mood by incorporating leitmotif of tension and fear through some subtle orchestration. The music is quite gorgeous and the visual is accompanied by an audio optican effect.
One of the pivotal aspects of the movie is the choice of visuals, as it is done not only by Wally Pfister in form but in substance as well. Shadows and light to tell the audience the main concept of the magicians’ world, the setting and costumes were designed to bring audience to the time when magic was valued. The use of low key lighting enhances the mood of the film and represents the gloominess of the Victorian era beautifully.
Due attention has been paid to the visual aspect of the film – the architecture of Victorian London, as well as other established settings and minutely designed stages. The set design effectively transports the viewer into a fantastical world of magic that is also a competition and in which the characters commit themselves as far as the art of the film allows.
The CGI is used sparingfully – just enough to make it magical without detracting from the art of it. It has been noted that the visual effects are used in a way to complement the plot, thus, the movie does not look completely real, yet it does not overshoot the edge of wonder. This sparing usage of effects helps to make certain that the essence of the picture is paced around character actions.
The editing in the film is product of careful and detailed work where Lee Smith makes use of every shot solely to advance the plot forward. The use of the episodic narrative structure is kept controlled here and is confusing only in terms of presenting new aspects of the plot. It is fast but rhythmic, making the audience to stay glued on their chairs as the complex storyline of the movie unravels. Every piece of action, every segment of the story progression, is calculated to heighten suspense and engage the audience into the puzzling web of the story. The information being unveiled is always quite appropriately timed, keeping the viewer glued to the movie all through; The dialog in ‘The Prestige’ ties in with the general theme of obsession and rivalry quite nicely. Likeable struck lines from Nolan brothers’ screenplay are intense and perceptive, as they reveal the characters of the two magicians, their dreams and their remorse. The attempts at portraying smart-mouthing characters seem to be relatively successful and the dialogues often contain a layer of sophistication which adds ’weights’ to the story as it were and bestows upon them aspect of intellectualism.
At the same time, though, ‘The Prestige’ is a kind of excellence of the plot it can put some people off with its complicated structure of the storyline. The movie aims high and at certain moments it may become confusing as the viewer may need moments to decipher some scenes. But this is where the beauty of this experience lies, as it is not for the faint hearted, those who would not want to dig deeper into the movie.
Just like watching a magic show where two magicians are competing with each other, and the movie ‘The Prestige’ is the magic trick being unmasked in front of the movie goers. Looking at the film as a masterpiece of cinematography, it is important to note the great acting and an interesting storyline that the movie has to offer. It dares viewers to consider what it is like when people lose themselves in their passions and forgeries in a mode that makes it provoke contemplation even after viewers are done with the film.
