Review: ‘Prestige’ uses diversions to trick audience

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie

Rated: PG-13

On the heels of “The Illusionist” – once again proving the “Hollywood Bandwagon Axiom” – comes another film about magicians in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.

When you think about it, the era was ripe for that form of entertainment. Science was advancing by leaps and bounds but harnessed electricity was a relatively new thing, the Wright Brothers were just about to fly the first airplane, the motion picture industry was in its fledgling state and radio and television were still years away. Edison was toying with many magical ideas, and his business rival Nikola Tesla was making magic of his own.

In Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” Tesla plays a prominent part in a story otherwise populated with fictional characters. From a script he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan, Nolan fashions a fractured narrative that is not as ambitious in style as his “Memento” but out of the Hollywood norm. His technique is a finely honed bit of post-Tarantino style with “The Prestige” being told using three different timelines. In the hands of less skilled directors, this approach can quickly become tedious, but Nolan has mastered the style.

Nolan’s also taken a cue from his subject matter and often tries to divert the audience’s attention while he sets up the trick. I wasn’t sure if the ultimate ending was supposed to be a surprise. It wasn’t to me. Some other things were, though. Nolan’s borrowed something from magicians Penn and Teller in the way he seemingly lets the viewer in on the trick while catching us off-guard nonetheless.

In a more linear fashion than happens in the film, here’s a synopsis.

Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale) are apprentices/shills for a magician named Cutter (Michael Caine). The young men have opposite styles and philosophies, but both show promise as magicians. After a stage stunt goes horribly wrong, their mutual animosity becomes cemented.

The rivalry between Angier and Borden can also be seen as a metaphor for the relationship between the two real life “magicians,” Tesla and Edison.

The two apprentices go their separate ways but keep the other in their thoughts. Each man has two reasons to live: To come up with a unique personal twist on the ultimate magic trick – here it is purported to be “The Transported Man” – and to cause and/or witness the other’s ultimate demise.

Each man, like many a great magician, becomes totally obsessed.

Borden marries and has a daughter. The widowed Angier remains single but becomes romantically involved with his assistant. This is understandable. Olivia is played by Scarlett Johansson.

Borden and Angier cross paths several times. Each time brings a good deal of unpleasantness. As the men grow older, their obsessions grow more powerful.

Angier is fascinated with Borden’s trick called “The Transported Man.” It features an effect not unlike the transporter from “Star Trek.” Borden bounces a ball across the stage while entering a closet sized box. Across the stage, he emerges in time to catch the ball.

Angier’s old friend, Cutter, assures him it’s a double, but Angier knows a double would be too risky. He soon proves that.

Through a double double-cross by Olivia, Angier obtains Borden’s notebook. It’s written in code but Angier, through another bit of cinematic diversion, manages to get the code. He finds that the great (if somewhat loony) inventor Tesla provided Borden with some sort of electrical device that aids in the transporting effect.

Angier camps out near Tesla’s Colorado compound and finally meets the reclusive genius. Nolan cast David Bowie in the role, and it really sounds like a good idea but misses the mark a bit. Bowie is made up to the point of almost having jowls and gives off an air of distraction rather than one of mystery and troubled genius.

Tesla, in need of financial backing, goes to work developing a device to transport a man through the ether. It continually fails, or at least seems to.

It’s discovered that the machine works, even if not quite as intended. Angier is able to utilize the device but when he does, it brings into play some horrific questions and finally some equally gruesome answers.

The fact that any kind of magic imaginable can be done onscreen these days using digital effects might make one think that watching magicians on film is as exciting as listening to card tricks on the radio. But “The Prestige” is more of a personal human drama that merely uses the world of magic and illusion as a backdrop.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.