The Prestige is a bad film….if you’re Christopher Nolan. After resuscitating the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, The Prestige came out, which is great right? Well, not when the next two movies are the best superhero movie of all time and dream inspired hallway fighting. On its own merits, the movie is a compelling and interesting character study of rival magicians for a long time, and directed with great craft by Nolan. There’s just something missing that keeps it from the insane heights of his next two films, which will grow into a flaw for the director as we see more of his stuff.
The Prestige is the 3rd part of a magic trick. Part 1 is the pledge, part 2 is the turn. In The Prestige’s pledge, we meet intern magicians Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) working under Milton the Magician (Ricky Jay) and his wife Julia (Piper Perabo). After Alfred plans an event with tragic results, Robert becomes permanently estranged from his former friend and now bitter rival. As the two ascend up the magician ranks, Robert becomes obsessed with learning how Alfred creates his “Transported Man” trick, so at the turn, he convinces his assistant Olivia (Scarlett Johansson) to spy on Borden. Oh and Michael Caine and David Bowie are involved.
It seems Christopher Nolan doesn’t quite understand what The Prestige is supposed to be. I think he wants it to be this stunning Shakespearean rivalry between rival magicians: one obsessed with showmanship, one content living more simply. The story certainly starts out that way, with the two men severing ties after a tragic accident, and the fierce rivalry that develops when “The Transported Man” shows up. Adding actresses with talent like Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson certainly help the story, and flash forwards to Borden in prison about to be hung and lose his kids also keeps the stakes high. However, instead of the women having agency, showcasing how hard life is for them to love someone built around deception and really developing them as characters, The Prestige uses them as props to elevate the tragic arc of the movie, which is just cruel and actually hinders the movie a bit. So to liven things up, Nolan brings in David Bowie’s character to add a killer twist to what’s going on. However, that twist is SO crazy that I almost with Nolan had made the ending more bonkers instead of a relatively subdued finale with one solid twist. In an effort to keep the stakes high, Nolan instead introduces enough camp into the story that The Prestige loses its way as it enters the prestige.
Holding the movie together though are the great performances. Michael Caine and David Bowie were always going to be great: they exude class and high society and give the story credibility with their presence. Scarlett Johansson and Rebeccal Hall are given too little to do, but what they get they execute well and do their best to service the magician story. Christian Bale had just done Batman Begins, so he comes game to play and does a nice job conveying Alfred’s competitiveness and naivete about his situation, but also nailing the big dramatic moments when the stakes get real for him. You all probably don’t remember, but Hugh Jackman was the big question mark in this cast at the time. He had basically been Wolverine and in a crazy Darren Aronofsky movie that no one watched, but no one knew he could carry hefty dramatic weight like he has to do as Robert Angier. Fortunately, Jackman’s stage background prepared him ably to play the showy Angier, who gets the more interesting performance akin to F. Murray Abraham’s Soliere to Mozart. Jackman’s showmanship shines through for sure, but he gives Angier a motivation of jealousy and anger that makes the prestige for him appointment movie watching.
I’ve heard people say The Prestige is a meta joke on magic tricks: that the movie itself is a magic trick on the audience. It’s clear Christopher Nolan is a master of his craft, and that his level of detail allows him to manipulate the audience to believe in what he’s trying to make. That sounds cruel, but that’s your job as a director, and in 2 years, Nolan would partner with Heath Ledger to create one of the great movie experiences of all time, so I’m ok with him working out the kinks in The Prestige.