I was very much looking forward to seeing "The Prestige." Keep in mind, "was" is the operative word here. As I stumbled out of the theater 21/2 hours later with a headache and bleary eyes, I thought of all the productive things I could have been doing instead.
While I consider Christopher Priest's novel, upon which the movie is based, to be tedious and long-winded, the plot is, in theory at least, an intriguing one. I had hoped that director Christopher Nolan had taken full advantage of this. Instead, "The Prestige" bears an uncanny resemblance to his 2005 release "Batman Begins," which was suspiciously similar to "Memento," his pseudo-noir film released in 2000.
"Memento" was raw, dark, original and decidedly outside the box, proving that Nolan has the potential to be a great director. "The Prestige," however, is only another sad example of his failure to live up to the promise he once showed. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale star as Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, magicians who become enemies after Borden causes the accidental death of Angier's wife.
Borden invents a trick of such magnificent proportions that Angier becomes obsessed with learning the secret behind it and takes their feud to a dangerous new level. Bale brings his usual intensity to the role of Borden while Jackman, who has proven himself to be a capable big-screen actor, is flat and bland. The movie cannot even be saved by its excellent supporting cast, which includes Michael Caine as Cutter, Angier's assistant and friend, and Scarlett Johansson as Olivia, the stage assistant Angier recruits to help him.
David Bowie has a small role as scientist Nikola Tesla and Andy Serkis plays his assistant. I honestly didn't expect that Bowie would be half as convincing as he is, nor did I expect that he would be so unrecognizable. Serkis is also quite good in a role that is more staid than any I have ever seen him play.
"The Prestige" is filmed in dark tones, which makes the whole film run together and tires the viewer. Nolan does this to make a point, of course. After two and a half hours, however, it falls flat.
If the overall storyline sounds interesting to you, read the book. At least you can put it down if you're bored and it won't cost you a horrendous amount of money. Frankly, if I really wanted a commentary on man's inner darkness, I wouldn't have gone to see a movie about magicians.
Rachel Dobiesz is a junior at Hamburg High School.
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