Review: The Prestige
Released:2006
Budget: 40M
Box Office: 110M
Counted among one of the best film ever, The prestige is that kind of movie you will want to re-watch. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the movie notably stars Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johnson, Michael Caine.
In a Water Tank trick, Borden(Bale) ties hands of Julia under her consent with a riskier slip knot which goes terribly wrong leading to the death of Julia, the dying member also being lover of another crew member Angier(Hugh). The rivalry between Borden and Angier begins here. The film depicts Borden to be in working class and Angier being a high class.
Borden's startup is a solo magic career and hires a silent, mysterious Fallon as an ingeniur; who is later revealed to be his twin giving a different appearance in the public. At his first show, Angier incapacitates the bullet catch trick, as a consequence of which Borden looses two fingers. As a result, the twin brother also has to cut the same two fingers. This is one of the acts that show their dedication towards magic.
Angier is a great showman but he lacks tricks. So, he seeks to decipher the tricks of Borden. The Transported Man, gains a huge success, where Angier instantly travels between two wardrobes placed at quite a distance on the stage. Obsessed with Borden's tricks, Angier steals his diary. Meanwhile, pissed off by Angier's actions, interrupts in one of Angier's show. The rivalry/competition slowly turns them towards each other, leading to Angier and Borden performing many disastrous actions such as killing.
Being one of the Christopher Nolan movie, a normal Jack cannot catch the plot easily. It really needs re-watching just to understand the plot since the scenes aren't placed chronologically. The movie starts from somewhere around the middle of the whole story. And the ending is confusing leading to many possibilities of what could happen next.
From cinematic perspective, Prestige is a king of cinematography; receiving very good reviews grom the fans and the critics. From business point of view, it was a success.
So what is the message one can possibly receive?
As the title suggests, it should be a film somehow related to prestige. And it's quite clear that the rivalry wasn't just because of Julia's death but mainly because as competitive magicians they are absolutely concerned about the respect and admiration felt on the basis of perceptions of their achievements and quality. They are concerned to the bottom of their heart about who is better.
It also portrays a realistic view of the world where someone else gets credit and applause for someone else's ideas. For example, The Transported Man is Borden's trick. But Angier uses it as his own.
The other truly catching aspect of the film is the introduction to Nikola Tesla; a real scientist of 19th/20th century. The film makers have identified whom the modern world should really admire.
The director suggests about 'architecture of mind'; the film tells us how imagination and sensation can push ourselves into illusion. Angier fails to admit that the The Transported Man relies on simple idea i.e. using a twin. Angier wants it to be more complex than that, and that's exactly something most of us would agree upon.
The way I see, Borden is always one step ahead of Angier and if it was meant to be a competition, Borden wins.
Being one of the Christopher Nolan movie, a normal Jack cannot catch the plot easily. It really needs re-watching just to understand the plot since the scenes aren't placed chronologically. The movie starts from somewhere around the middle of the whole story. And the ending is confusing leading to many possibilities of what could happen next.
From cinematic perspective, Prestige is a king of cinematography; receiving very good reviews grom the fans and the critics. From business point of view, it was a success.
So what is the message one can possibly receive?
As the title suggests, it should be a film somehow related to prestige. And it's quite clear that the rivalry wasn't just because of Julia's death but mainly because as competitive magicians they are absolutely concerned about the respect and admiration felt on the basis of perceptions of their achievements and quality. They are concerned to the bottom of their heart about who is better.
It also portrays a realistic view of the world where someone else gets credit and applause for someone else's ideas. For example, The Transported Man is Borden's trick. But Angier uses it as his own.
The other truly catching aspect of the film is the introduction to Nikola Tesla; a real scientist of 19th/20th century. The film makers have identified whom the modern world should really admire.
The director suggests about 'architecture of mind'; the film tells us how imagination and sensation can push ourselves into illusion. Angier fails to admit that the The Transported Man relies on simple idea i.e. using a twin. Angier wants it to be more complex than that, and that's exactly something most of us would agree upon.
The way I see, Borden is always one step ahead of Angier and if it was meant to be a competition, Borden wins.
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