The Prestige
The Prestige opens in the UK today, but last night I was fortunate enough to be at a screening for the movie which was my most anticipated film of 2006. I managed to keep myself spoiler free, resisting the temptation of reading the Christopher Priest novel of which the movie is based and not reading to many reviews from other critics who have seen the film. So I'm in a 75% full theatre, everyone else seemingly in line for Borat. The lights go down, the heavy smell of popcorn and hotdogs are in the air and we are straight in. No adverts, no trailers.... the Warner Brothers logo appears and their is silence. Michael Caine appears and talks us through the three acts of the magic trick.... the first act is the pledge, the magician shows us something ordinary..... the second act he changes something ordinary into something extraordinary....then the third act is where a life can hang in the balance and we are shown something we have never seen before.... the shocking act known as The Prestige. And we are ready for this mystery to begin. Like Memento and in some respects Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan creates a puzzle of a movie told in a non-linear fashion with plenty of jumping around from period to period but never once are you confused about what is happening. He has a great gift of being able to shoot a complex story full of more twists and turns than a Grand Prix race track without you ever wondering where the hell you are. I'm not going to tell you ANYTHING about the plot because frankly this movie deserves better than that. Like a great magician who doesn't reveal his secrets, I'm not going to tell you how it was done but what I am going to tell you is how great this movie is. The Prestige is quite frankly like no film I've ever seen before. You can 
guess every revelation that Nolan has up his sleeve literally moments before he reveals them on film which incredibly gives you enormous satisfaction when you see them come true. Like a great Columbo episode, you take pleasure at working things out just seconds before he does and you love it when when he reveals what you already know. You can almost feel the director feeding us these little clues and willing us to work out the big secrets. The performances as usual in a Nolan film are "top notch". Hugh Jackman has seriously never been better as Angier, a dark and troubled magician who gradually as the film goes on becomes less and less likeable. The role requires him to find emotional depths never seen before from the actor but he pulls it off admirably, a scene near the end of the movie being the highlight of his career so far, in my book. 
Christian Bale is as usual fantastic. Along with Russell Crowe, he is the most consistent actor working today, and yet again he transforms himself fully into a role making you forget that he's Bruce Wayne or that he was Patrick Bateman or Trevor Reznik. Your never quite sure how to take his character, he is at times likeable and at times a downright bastard but you feel for him all the way, a great testament to Bale's acting talent. This leaves you in a postion of not finding neither character likeable in their deadley rivalry but you feel for them both, even if you are uncomfortable with siding with one of them. 
Neither of these were my favourite character in the movie though, that honour went to David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. This guy should really do more acting. I was left mesmerized by every line of dialogue he had to deliver with his face so cold and knowing. His is the picture of where obsession can drive you and his subplot is an added bonus to how the story unfolds. If you look deeper into The Prestige then you will see it has one of the darkest subject matters in any film this year. At it's heart, it's a tale of obsession and how far all of us will go to better ourselves and try to become the best at what we do. It's about self sacrifice and the consequences of where these obsessions can leave us and our loved ones. If you look further into the movie, there is more at work here though, especially in it's third act. There are deep themes and messages I wasn't quite expecting to deal with when I walked into the screening last night but I loved the movie more for it and kept me thinking about them last night. My opinion of this film is getting better and better the more the time passes since I've seen it, as to does it's complicated messages which are quite haunting the more you think about it. 
There are a few niggly problems that I feel like I have to mention. Scarlett Johansson was wasted in this movie. She's one of the most talented actresses around but her screentime and character development were pathetic. She deserved so much better than what she was given here but my god did she look hot in those assistant outfits. Andy Serkis also I felt was slightly wasted, his screentime limited to a few short scenes which were superbly acted by the guy but I was begging to see more of the character. The score to I wasn't all that kean on and was instantly forgetable and failed to lift the movie's key and emotional moments. At the end of the day though, The Prestige puts Nolan 4 for 4 in in my book. Memento blew me away, Insomnia I thought was a great film (harshly criticised by many), Batman Begins was incredible and now The Prestige is a magical delight. Not only do I wait in absolute geek filled exictment for The Dark Knight but I too look forward to seeing his smaller and more intimate films in the future like this one. rating: 4.5
A dazzling complicated plot with an extremely deep moral message is turned into an easy to follow and engaging cinematic delight that will leave you by the third act... in awe of the Prestige.