The Prestige:

Kat and Tyler: llll

The story of The Prestige may be innitially reminiscent of The Illusionist given its similar subject matter, the obscure underworld of magic at the turn of the century. Nevertheless, they are drastically different. The Prestige explores the conflictive relationship of two entertainers who will sacrifice anything to create the perfect illusion and perfect their craft. While it is clear they must be willing to "get their hands to dirty" in the process, their boundaries are increasingly tested as the stakes rise. Since the movie was directed by Christopher Nolan, the same director of the classic thriller Memento, it is not surprising to find some remarkable similarities. Just as the two entertainers, the Professor (Christian Bale) and the Great Danton (Hugh Jackman), use all the tools at hand to deceive and awe their audiences, the movie feels like a grand illussion. Their mentor, Cutter (Michael Caine), explains an act of magic as composed of the pledge, the turn, and finally, the prestige. Similarly, the movie makes use of this structure and keeps the audiences in a world of shadows and deceit, in which little can be predicted. Turns abound, making the movie almost constantly captivating and nerve racking. But most critical is the prestige, or conclusion, when a reality far darker than expected is exposed. This reality is both disturbing and fascinating, and as a magic performance, leaves the audience dazzled and without time to react. It is only hours after that all the pieces begin to fit together unveiling an ingenious and masterfully woven movie. Most of the performances are rivetting, in particular the two primary actors, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, who convincingly portray how far men can go for an ambition and its complex consequences. Despite his supporting role, Michael Cane was exceptional as usual, and was critical to defining the interrelations between the chracters and the tone of the movie as a whole. Similarly impressive was the performance of Rebeca Hall as the professor's wife, who is trapped between her husband's troubled duality. The movie was rated PG-13 due to its relative lack of explicit violence, sex and language. However, its script, tone, and unapologizing lack of sensitivity merits a solid R rating. There are many things more traumatic in life than the word f***, explossions or naked breasts. The Prestige falls into that cathegory, and is definitely not a family movie.