The Prestige

This weekend I saw the movie The Prestige – a great film, definitely recommended! I won’t give anything away; just say that the movie tells the story of two rivaling magicians, both haunted by a tragic accident in their youth. When one comes up with an impossibly brilliant new illusion, the other’s tormented competitiveness turns dangerously obsessive. The plot twists rapidly between characters and throws a fast-paced shuttle back and forth in time.

The film is based on the 1995 Christopher Priest novel by the same title and stars Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson. The film features David Bowie, and is directed by Christopher Nolan, who also directed Caine and Bale in Batman Begins.

A great magic trick has, according to Caine’s character, who builds illusions for magicians, three parts: The Pledge, where something apparently ordinary is presented, The Turn, where the ordinary is turned into something extraordinary, and The Prestige, where the audience sees something shocking they’ve never seen before.

The real magic of this film is that in the end you realize you have not merely been watching a movie – you have just witnessed an expert magic trick. The story’s Prestige occurs when you comprehend the truth that was right there in front of you the whole time, but somehow manages to elude you. This intricately woven tapestry of misdirection and deceit, belief and disbelief keeps you guessing – right until the very end.

Are you watching closely?