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film: The Prestige
director: Christopher Nolan
cast: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine
Newmarket Productions / 2006 / 130 min
score: 81
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by Kaare Kvenild
Nominated: Cinematography / Art Direction
"The Prestige" was my absolute favorite movie of 2006. It was one of the surprise hits of the
fall when it debuted in the top slot at the box office, and stayed there for two consecutive weeks.
Christopher Nolan ("Memento" and "Batman Begins") is at the top his game in a movie that can not be
pigeon-holed by a genre. It's science-fiction, fantasy, drama and suspense thriller all rolled
into one. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival magicians at the end of the 19th Century in
London. This is a story of obsession. Bale's character, Alfred Borden, has a trick to beat all
tricks called the Transported Man. Borden is obsessed with keeping the workings of the Transported
Man a secret. Jackman's character, Robert Angier, is obsessed with discovering Borden's method.
Why? You'll just have to watch, for I cannot and will not divulge any secrets of "The Prestige,"
because doing so would be an injustice and will completely ruin it for anyone that has not seen the film.
Nolan wrote the screenplay along with his brother Jonathan. It is based on Christopher
Priest's novel of the same name. The one downer of the film is that they strayed a bit from Priest's
novel (which is exceptional), but that is my only complaint about "The Prestige." I truly believe
that Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker who will go down as one of the greats in cinema. Hugh Jackman
continues to impress me as I have watched him develop as an actor; he is much more than Wolverine.
Also, I make it no secret that I think Christian Bale is one of the
best actors working today. I have never been so taken in by an actor in every performance as I am
with Bale. All the actors are top-notch in this film that really tests your patience as far as figuring
out how the tricks are done. "The Prestige" was nominated for two Academy Awards
(Art Direction and Cinematography), and it won neither award but that really makes no difference.
The audience will see how detailed this film is. All involved in "The Prestige" have something to
be proud of.
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