The Prestige (2006, PG-13)

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Grade: B—

The Prestige comes across as one of those well-made though unlikeable films.  The entire picture is humorless and brooding, though very atmospherical and interesting.  The plot is set at the turn of the century, and provides us with an interesting examination of magicians during that time period.  The film itself focuses on two magicians in particular.  The story and the characters are all fictional, though the setting is very real.  In quintessence, this could be regarded as an exclusive work of historical fiction. 

            I commemorate director Nolan for providing the narrative of the film in a unique manner, though I do recognize that his style will prove inapt for quite a few out there.  The sequences are presented out of order, and so our mind races back and forth to decipher about which scene comes first.  By the end of the film, I was able to piece most of the film together in order, though I wasn’t able to piece together all of it until a second, recent viewing.

            I also admire the film for its dense plotting.  There are so many events going on at once, so many characters committing so many acts, so many tricks going off—all at the same time.  In the second paragraph, I did say that all these scenes are placed out of order.  As a result, the Prestige is a piece that requires hard, focused, concentrated attention throughout.  Lend your imagination elsewhere for perhaps five minutes and you might be obliged to rewind the film back a little.  In addition, I should take the time to comment to approve of all the actor’s performances in the film, a couple of which might have been Oscar-worthy.  The Prestige is very well performed, and it’s an adequate training exercise for Nolan, who just afterword ventured into very big-budget flicks like the Dark Knight and Inception, both of which were very similar to the Prestige, structure wise.

             I know I highly respect the Prestige for its production value, but I’m still wary about whether or not I was fond of the characters.  Each character in the film is really out for their own good without much regard for whoever else is involved.  And, be forewarned, this is a solemn piece that lacks an ounce of real, sustaining pleasure; rather, it absolutely worthy of a focused set of mind from the audience.  Fortunately, this is a worthwhile motion picture by all means.  I couldn’t really relate to a lot of it, in fact most of it, though it’s still very bravo in its crisp execution of the one-of-a-kind narrative and healthy production significance. 

            As a Nolan film, this is a dark, complex and compelling tale of rival magicians at turn of the century England.  The fact that it’s a finely-acted, well-shot, though puzzling and out of the ordinary film that requires multiple viewings all adds up to the conclusion that it’s not too different from other Nolan outings, and so it’s suitability for people will vary substantially.  B—