Christopher Nolan: Ranking All 9 Of His Movies From Worst To Best
3. The Prestige
Despite being based on a novel by Christopher Priest, The Prestige feels like Nolan to its core. Everything from the pinch of film noir to the undying focus on character positively reeks of the director's stylings, allowing him to flex his muscles in a period setting while delivering a solid tale that'll have you guessing long after the credits have rolled.
The story of two rival magicians whose attempts to outdo each other have increasingly devastating consequences, The Prestige isn't just a film about magic and mystery - it's a mystery in its own right. The ending will make you question a number of scenes that came before, but like all great magic tricks, the film doesn't give you a definitive answer. It revels in the mystery, handing you numerous dangling threads and daring you to weave them together.
But even if you do weave them together and come to a conclusion, you'll never find out if it's the right one, and honestly, deep down, you don't even want to find out either. Magic tricks lose their appeal when you know how they're done, and because of this, The Prestige smartly keeps its cards pressed firmly to its chest.