The Prestige

This entry was posted by owl and bear staff on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 at 12:58 am.

Christopher Nolan, director of the excellent films Memento and Insomnia, may not have leapt forward here, but even his trifles are a damn sight better than most of what passes through Hollywood’s collective terlet these days.

Because of the film’s good quality, it’s not surprising that The Prestige probably stayed in theaters for all of 3 days, leaving potentially-interested viewers (like me) unaware of its existence. In sum, this is a fine, intriguing mystery from Nolan. Thankfully, he didn’t take the Shymalan road to success and tenderize a gimmick like the proverbial dead horse: even as he is known for making the dark, serpentine mystery, The Prestige shows that he hasn’t limited himself to reusing the same basic plot map.

The Prestige is a period piece about magicians, and to a lesser extent, a tale of the little-known rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. As a mystery, it is not as spellbinding as Memento (I had this one figured out in about 60 minutes; see how you fare), nor is it as thought-provoking as Insomnia, but the film makes up for its shortcomings in other ways, and really fares best as an exceedingly well-made treatise on obsession.

Former Wolverine Hugh Jackman and former Batman Christian Bale get decent marks for acting, as does Michael Caine for his typical supporting role, but Nolan is the true star here.

B+