The Prestige (***1/2)

? Just like The Illusionist, this is set in Europe at the turn of the century (the last one) and tells a tale hinging on what is truth and what is magic. There are two magicians (Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale) in this telling, who become rivals following an unfortunate trick gone wrong. The other prominent roles are Michael Caine as a sort of senior advisor to Jackman’s character, and Scarlett Johansson as an alluring assistant. The movie was directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins).

+ Though perhaps not as elegantly presented as The Illusionist, the story here is probably meatier and delves deeper into the world of what today might tediously be called the magician community. Just as with The Illusionist, magician Ricky Jay was a consultant, and in this case we actually get to see how some of the tricks were done. (Jay also appears as the old-timer who hires both protagonists to work in his act.) Moreover, the characters (Jackman’s in particular) have a trajectory to match the twists of the plot.

- A lot of your assessment of this movie is going to depend on, not so much the ending, but a central premise that sets it up. Without giving too much away, this involves the scientist Nicola Tesla (an effective David Bowie) and the way this real-life scientist’s abilities are fictionally extended to encompass skills well beyond what is possible today, let alone a century ago. It didn’t nearly ruin the movie for me, but it’s a weak point.

= ***1/2 I’m not sure why this merited a wider release than The Illusionist, which has a fairly traditional romance going for it, compared to this movie, whose central themes are jealousy and revenge, and whose major personages are deeply flawed. Maybe just that there are more big names. Anyway, this movie offers a different sort of appeal. Though I’ve repeatedly compared it to the other magic movie, I think The Prestige is a little more like Nolan’s Memento in its tricky plotting, back-and-forth time structure, and character-revealing turns. It’s fairly easy to follow, but it does have a puzzle at the center that the viewer can wonder about.

IMDb link