Prestige (English, 2006)

Are you watching closely? If not, do, or you will miss one of the best films of the year. Prestige is the story of two magicians – Alfred Borden aka The Professor (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier aka The Great Danton (High Jackman), from their starting years working together to their becoming bitter rivals, always trying to outdo each other in magic tricks, pitting Professor’s superior magic tricks against The Great Danton’s showmanship.

I had gone in with the expectations of seeing a war of magic tricks. That would have been crude. This movie is anything but crude. It is the story of the inner passion of two men – similar in many respects but fundamentally different. Similar in their pursuit of better magic, different in the ways they adopt to achieve their goals, different in the kind of sacrifices they make to achieve superiority. Even the motive for one-upmanship is different – for one it is to have better tricks, for other to have that ultimate applause.

The magic in the movie in not in tricks, but in the men playing those tricks, or preparing for and planning those tricks. In a superb performance from Hugh Jackman, the magic that a man’s ambition can be is portrayed on the screen. With good performances from Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson and Michael Caine, the movie leaves us spellbound with admiration for these actors.

The execution of the movie is superb. Christopher Nolan knows how to pace his movie, what to show and what to reveal when and how and how to get the best out of his cast and crew.

The only weak point of the movie is the fanciful use of Tesla, the scientist to create a magical machine which… Let me not spoil the movie for you, but let me tell you that whatever it does sounds as unscientific as can be.

Recommendation – Don’t miss it.

Rating – ✔✔✔✔