“The Prestige” worthy of its name

“The Prestige,” co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan (who did “Batman Begins” and “Memento”), is a simply amazing film. It’s the story of two magicians (played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) who begin as apprentices for the same magician. After a trick goes wrong and wife of one of the apprentices dies as the lovely assistant in a magic trick, the two apprentices both began their individual careers as magicians. The loss of the assistant begins a rivalry between the two apprentices that comes to a head over a trick that one cannot figure out.

The characters all very believable, and make it easy to suspend disbelief. The story is told nonlinearly in a way that makes it very engaging. This film is also beautifully directed and is easy to appreciate in the same way one appreciates a painting. The film presents a pattern to magic tricks, involving three parts: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. The film follows the pattern itself, beginning with an ordinary seeming premise, has a fantastic turn in the middle, and blows you away at the end.

Only go to see this movie if you like thinking though, because this one will get the gears turning. There’s so much mystery and deep-woven connections that this film will be on your mind for some time. I was afraid to breath and miss a moment of the unfolding story. It touches on so many aspects of humanity like love, trust, and death that it’s hard not to even reflect on yourself a bit. Go to see this movie.

I did have one complaint after seeing it though. And if you continue reading, I’ll tell you. But don’t read anymore if you want to see this movie, because my complaint is unfounded but will give you a hint as to the mind-blowingness of the film. The complaint is this: the ending is over-explained. I walked out of the theater thinking, “do they think I’m stupid? I figured that out when the film was half over…”

But when you apply a little thought to it, that was all part of the “magic trick” to the film. The real “prestige” of this film is underplayed but the more you think through it, the more you find yourself saying, “No way!” And frankly, I haven’t been able to squelch my desire to see this movie again as I replay moments in my head.