Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are in fine form as the leads, two young magicians bitterly rivaled against each other at the end of the 19th century. Their rivalry is a bloody one – it all started when Borden (Bale) takes a risk performing a trick which leads to the death of Angier’s (Jackman) young wife. Angier does some foul play with Borden’s tricks in return, leading to Borden losing two fingers. However, Borden is soon back on the stage, with a trick that Angier cannot figure out. And hence the rivalry intensifies, as both men utilize everything they have to get the upper hand against each other, including a tempting young woman played by the beautiful Scarlett Johansson.
To be true, The Prestige is more about rivalry than magic, and that rivalry comes in many forms. The most apparent rivalry is the professional one, where both men try to outsmart each other. But that rivalry extends beyond just their profession, and into their lives, where that most sacred thing of all, love, is also part of the game. And then as an interesting side-note, there’s also the real-life rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, which is part of the complicated plot that writer/director Christopher Nolan is offering.
Nolan, who’s previous works include Batman Begins and Memento, likes a story told in a complicated manner (as those two titles suggest), and he couldn’t resist that temptation here. The Prestige is quite cleverly packaged, with lots of flashbacks (and flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks). That doesn’t mean the film is beyond comprehension, because it’s easily accessible, and the tempo is masterfully controlled throughout the film’s two hour length, without any real lag. There is one flaw with the plot (as the film at one point ventures into science fiction), which some critics view as serious enough to jeopardize the whole film, but I see it as forgivable, as it somewhat fits with the film’s hidden theme.
Indeed, in retrospect, the entire film is built upon a very simple idea, illustrated by the first trick that the film demonstrates – the best tricks employ the most simple ideas, and in the case of The Prestige, that means the best tricks are real. It’s the consequences that we have to deal with.
8/10
