The Prestige

If you haven't seen the film yet, stop now and go watch The Prestige. Recently I've written about Rian Johnson's whodunit films, and how brilliant they are. But Christopher Nolan's flick about two competing magicians is arguably even better in its multi-layered splendor.

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I've watched both of Rian Johnson's whodunits three times now, and with every viewing I've discovered new details; these films actually get better, my appreciation of the craftsmanship needed for putting together such brilliant stories grows every time. Some films I re-watch for the mere pleasure of reliving the the action, the worlds and characters, like the original Star Wars or Lord of the Ring trilogies, but these don't stand out when it comes to containing multiple layers, meaningful criticism or deep meaning. Don't get me wrong: these are brilliant movies in their own right, doing what they're supposed to do better than most other films in their genre. But then there are the films that are so deep, so wonderfully layered, and so masterfully crafted that they not only leave you breathless, but asking questions long after the end-credits.

Christopher Nolan is known for making such films. Memento, Tenet, Inception, Interstellar, they all leave the audience with a satisfied feeling of having their lifes enriched with stories that explore the flow of time, the imagination, emotions and human nature, all wrapped up in spectacular vistas, action and dialogue, on top of the grander questions of human existence he never shies away from attacking head-on. Even the films in his Batman trilogy stand out in the, usually quite shallow superhero genre, because of the depths Nolan is willing to explore with the characters and worlds he brings to life. And much like the whodunits by Rian Johnson, Nolan's "The Prestige" is so wonderfully crafted that it becomes better every time I re-watch it.

The main cast is exquisite. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale star as up and coming stage magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden respectively, in late Victorian London. Michael Cane is the elderly mastermind behind the scenes who creates the many mechanical devises for the magic tricks. Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall are the love interests, with Johansson being used by both men for their own selfish goals, and Hall the wife of Borden and the mother of his daughter. David Bowie and Andy Serkis show up as the real life Nikola Tesla and his assistant as well, both perfectly cast and fitting in perfectly with the dark, somber and mysterious mood of this film.

At the very beginning of the story, Michael Caine explains, in a voice-over, that a good magic trick consists of three parts: 1) "the pledge", in which the audience is presented with a ordinary object, animal or person, 2) "the turn", where the magician makes the object, animal or person disappear, and 3) the most important part part, "the prestige", is when the magician makes it come back. These three parts are not only the way the tricks are set up, it's the way the entire story's set up. Only the story fails at the most important part; at the end of it all, the things that are lost, that have disappeared, are lost forever and don't come back. And I believe Nolan did this intentionally. It's not a "feelgood" movie at all, but quite the opposite. Stop here if you haven't seen it yet, because in order to explain my thoughts on the film I'll have to venture into heavy spoiler territory...

Angiers and Borden start out as helpers of a mediocre magician; they're in the crowd to be picked as "random" volunteers to assist the magician with his most dangerous trick. Both men are asked to inspect the rope and the glass container full of water that will be used to tie up and lock up the magician's lovely assistant. Borden then ties her hands and feet and she's lowered into the glass container. The container is locked and a curtain drops. After a few agonizing seconds, with the audience worrying for the assistant's life, the curtain is raised and she "magically" stands besides the container, free and alive. The escaped assistant is in fact Angiers young wive, and Borden uses a certain type of knot in order to allow her to easily free her hands.

One fateful night however everything goes wrong. That's because Borden uses another type of knot. You see, both young men aspire to become stage magicians themselves and Borden is the better of the two, always looking for new challenges and new illusions. Angiers on the other hand is the better showman of the two. When Borden ties Angiers' wive with the new knot, she's unable to escape and drowns in front of the audience and her desperate husband. This sets off a bitter rivalry between the two friends that lasts their entire lives. We follow them as they set off on their own careers, creating their own signature magic tricks, and from early on in the film it's clear that Borden is the better and smarter magician. He develops an amazing trick, called "The Transported Man", in which he walks into a door on one side of the stage, and almost instantly emerges from a door at the other side.

When Angiers sees this trick, he can't figure out how Borden does it. He's perplexed, just like the rest of the audience. Michael Caine's character immediately has an explanation though: "he uses a double". But Angiers doesn't believe that; he's convinced that Borden has devised some brilliant mechanism instead. From that moment on we, the audience, are introduced to Angiers', and Borden's, completely obsessive behavior. They'll do anything to best their rival, including deception, stealing and even cold-blooded murder later in the film. Angiers falls in love with his new assistant, Scarlett Johansson, but uses her to spy on Borden and steal his diary, which Angiers believes to contain the key to "the transported man"...

I'll leave it here with the story, but I'll tell you that it sets up the first two stages perfectly; "the pledge" is when we're introduced to these ambitious young magicians, "the turn" is when they are transformed by the obsessive rivalry that shapes the rest of their lives and in which they both lose their sanity as well as their lovers. Angiers travels all the way to America to meet Nikola Tesla, as he believes Tesla created an electrical machine that is the key to Borden's masterpiece. And eventually Tesla does make a machine for Angiers that will propell his career to new heights, but he warns Angiers that he's best leave that machine unused. At the climax of the film all is revealed, but both men are dead. For real this time, because they actually died long before the end of the story; the persons they once were disappeared when they became rivals, something that's told through the eyes of Borden's wive and Angiers' assistant. Both men first lose themselves, their lovers, and, in the case of Borden, his daughter, and then their lifes. Forever. No "prestige".

This film is a dark warning, in my opinion, against such rivalries. It's a reminder for us to never give up what makes us human. Borden and Angiers lose their humanity in a competition that in the end only produces losers. It's the story of humans' and humanity's dark side that is capable of consuming us whole. This warning couldn't have worked if there was in fact a "prestige" at the end of it all. I read Roger Ebert's review of the film, and he was disappointed by the absence of the prestige in the story. And even though Ebert was one of the world's premier reviewer and expert on films (he sadly died in 2013), I respectfully disagree. Just like all the other unexpected twists and turns, the absence of the prestige is a brilliant move. If you've come this far, had most of the story spoiled, but didn't see the movie yet, I'd still recommend you go see it. I've left out a lot here and the ending will still come as a dark surprise, with a tiny bit of light. And after you've done that, watch the below linked breakdown of the film which spoils every little detail ;-)

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