Christopher Nolan’s bad movies are better than most people’s good ones. I count three of them (Memento, Inception and The Dark Knight) among my all-time favourites, and I have enjoyed everything else of his that I’ve seen (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar). Noticeably absent from that list, until this week, was The Prestige, which usually appears near the top of critics’ “best of Nolan” lists. So when The Prestige popped up on Netflix’s “recently added” row, I dove in immediately.
The Prestige is a tale of the ever-escalating war between two rival magicians, played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Bale is the purer magician while Jackman is the larger commercial success. As the stakes get ratcheted up, Bale is arrested for Jackman’s murder. But in a battle of illusionists, can we really believe what we see?
Structurally, The Prestige is as complex as anything that Nolan has thrown at us. This movie shouldn’t work as well as it does. There are flashbacks within flashbacks but I knew at all times where/when a scene fit in with the rest of the film. We’ve got enough examples by now of Nolan’s capabilities, but The Prestige is yet another display of his narrative mastery. Basing the film on the three parts of a magic trick works very well, keeping the viewer on edge until the big reveal.
The reveal itself, though, left me disappointed. It was a huge stretch that went completely against the movie’s prior suggestions that the secret of magic is setting up the trick and selling it to the audience. I found the reveal of both Bale and Jackman’s methods problematic, in different ways, but Jackman’s big surprise was what really took the air out of the film for me.
Because of that, on my list The Prestige gets relegated to the lower tier of Nolan films, somewhere in Interstellar territory. Make no mistake, though, that’s due to Nolan having made so many great films as opposed to The Prestige being a bad movie. It’s still pretty damn good!
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I love this film and think it’s up there with Memento and Inception in terms of his non-Batman movies. I know what you mean by the “sci-fi” prestige turn at the end but if you watch the film more than once the obsessional nature of the characters – in this case Jackman – really makes the leap more believable.
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SPOILERS
I agree the obsessional nature of Jackman’s character helps, but I couldn’t get over that his “trick” was to use real magic.
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My understanding was Jackman’s character used science and literally became the bird in the cage dying over and over to return as a clone, thus, it had nothing to do with magic but rather obsessive zeal.
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Sean, Tubularsock is not a big fan of Batman and all that but you have me interested in this film which I would have just not bothered with until your review. Illusion/magic is always fun.
So off Tubularsock goes or is it really Tubularsock going ………… we shall see.
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This sounds complicated and interesting, so I’ll do it!
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Movie buff teen son would agree with you. He recently watched this and said about the same thing. Only far less eloquently. 🙂
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You’re right about the story being quite clean even though it’s so complex in structure. Nolan has a super talent for that, for never losing his audience, and I suppose also for trusting us to keep up.
Not my favourite either. I don’t love magic, but I do think the performances are quite good.
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I thought this film was genius. I get that you thought the big reveal was a stretch, but I just thought the whole narrative was so well put together and it all made sense in the end. Here’s my review of the film, if you fancy reading: https://motionpictureblog.com/2016/08/17/the-prestige-2006/
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Thanks, I’ll take a look. The narrative does make sense, which is impressive given the unique structure, and I certainly can’t argue with anyone who puts this in the upper tier of Nolan’s work. It’s amazingly well-crafted.
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I watch this movie every winter and love it more and more each time. I can understand how the reveals wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve always found them fitting enough for my liking.
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I love the whole twist at the end of the movie.
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I did not like this film. That ending you alluded to annoyed me, and a bad ending can turn me off a movie. And this one… I just wasn’t feeling it.
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A brilliant assessment of this film. Great potential with a weak ending. Certainly could have been better at the end
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I like this one, it surprised me. I was practically dragged to the theater for this one and I thought it looked so boring despite the cast. I’m glad to be proven wrong with enjoying movies.
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One of my favourite Nolan movies. Quite possibly in my top 10 of all time, too. Although initially unsure of the ending, I’ve watched it a few times and there are enough hints at his path being shaped by his obsession with Bale and revenge.
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Definitely one of my favourite Nolan works, for sure. I was initially a bit disappointed by the twist but I’ve come to enjoy it upon rewatches. Such a visually gorgeous film as well.
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well looks like my Netflix list is starting to grow:) thanks Sean
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Sounds good, and definitely worth a watch. Your three favorites are mine, too. Memento blew my mind when I first saw it.
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