For anyone who thought Christopher Nolan couldn’t create a bigger head trip than Memento, well, he had time to make another movie in between his first two Batmans and boy did he prove them wrong!
The plot, as basically as can be described, is that long ago there were two upstart magicians. One accidentally harms the other in a horrible way (at least let’s hope it was an accident!), the other wants revenge, the first doesn’t take kindly to that, and the cycle that’s literally vicious just keeps continuing, and continuing, and continuing…What makes this movie special is that, because they’re rival magicians, they each often feel like the best way to harm the other is by making his own act the more popular one – and they’ll stop at nothing to get to that point. They’ll also stop at nothing to harm the other on a personal level and watching them continue to figure out more and more astonishing (black) magic, while we personally try to figure out what we don’t know, is beyond exhilarating.
I feel I shouldn’t say anymore about the story so instead I’ll just say that this is another Nolan movie firing on all cylinders. The movie very deservedly got nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction, while very undeservedly being shut out otherwise. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are amazing as co-leads, and it would have been interesting to see who Disney attempted to convince the Academy was actually a supporting actor, LOL. This is the first movie where Nolan’s fondness for working with the same actors repeatedly became apparent, and Michael Caine is wonderful in his reunion with Bale. Scarlett Johannsson shows depths we hadn’t often gotten to see from her yet, and there’s not a bad performance in the movie. Putting together such an incredibly complex screenplay so deftly and entertainingly was truly an Oscar-worthy achievement, and it’s a shame that after being robbed of the award five years earlier, the Nolan brothers didn’t even get a nomination.
It’s also really a shame Christopher didn’t get a Best Director nomination and the movie didn’t get one for Best Picture, especially considering 2006 was a weak year. I’ve often said The Departed blew everything else away…until I saw this. I’m not saying it was better than The Departed, but at least it should have been a competitive race instead of The Prestige being shut out.
Of course, some would argue that the Oscars lost all credibility after Crash won the previous year. What really matters is the court of cinephile opinion, and The Prestige is currently #47 on the IMDB Top 250, just three behind The Departed. It was really a Godfather, Part II vs. Chinatown situation as far as what movie should be called be the year’s best.
In any case, I’ve made my point!
Bottom Line: Watch it!!!!!
Up Next: Already wrote about The Dark Knight last year. Jumping ahead now.
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