*** Official The Prestige Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Justin_S]

I don't understand the confusion over Scarlett's departure. It's pretty obvious in her final scene with Borden that she's disgusted by his lack of sympathy for his wife's suicide, and that she's done with him and Angier, as evidenced by her remark that they both deserve each other. Why would she return after this?

 

[Ray H]

Justin, I remembered that scene taking place, but when I started thinking about it, I had no memory of what they were saying. I was too busy looking at the scar on Christian Bale's eyebrow!

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I saw this tonight, and I think that you're right, Chris(great film, by the way!).

 

[Phil Florian]

Oh, this movie is going to have SOO much discussion around it...which is fantastic. Just saw this tonight and loved it to death. I enjoy that time period and have read about other accounts of the Tesla/Edison rivalry and now want to read a lot more.


Angier knew that nothing appeared to happen to the hat so the same would happen to him. Or the cat. It was just there after the special effect. As noted, there is no original. He knew what would happen and what he would have to do if it worked as it did with the cat and said something along the lines of, "I can't live a life like that" which makes for a nice parallel to Bale's character(s). Neat.

Note that the doppelganger of the cat also was seen chasing itself...maybe there is an innate need to have only one version of oneself in existence. Odd.

But Angier realized that the trick wouldn't work if one lived so he "got his hands dirty" by essentially committing suicide each time. I wonder if he truly thought that drowning (and I assume Caine's character was the one that nearly drowned) was a euphoric feeling as he heard at the funeral of his wife. I loved that he was trying to replicate that after her death in his sink.

The layers to this film can keep a mind whirring for hours...the realization that it was Bale's character who survived the burial when he was talking about the new "trick" he had thought up...the realization as to why some days his wife felt loved and others not...and so on. I will be watching this movie a lot when I get the DVD.

Other highlights include Bowie as Tesla (and I like Gollum his assistant...good accent work, too!). Amazingly nuanced performance. He was kind of a straight man version of Willy Wonka with his half-protests and yet full encouragement of Angier. "Wait, stop, don't do it" he says while handing him the keys to the machine. Nice.

One last bit I really liked was the connection to the Victorian era's obsession with mysticism. The backer for the final 100 shows was in awe of the trick but didn't think it was a trick. He said something along the lines of , "It has been a long time since I have seen real magic. You need to give them enough to doubt it, even if a little." That era was obsessed with seances and magic and all of that and it was neat to see a guy still in awe like that.

There are too many movies out there now that I want to see (stupid Oscar season...I wish they spread the goods over the year...) so I doubt I will catch this again in the theater but I sure will try.

 

[Paul_Scott]

when I first left this movie, I felt like I'd enjoyed it, but the length and unsympathetic characters would push it over into the realm of things I'm happy to have seen once, but have no burning desire to ever see again.
The other two people I saw it with loved it.

that night, as I laid in bed I couldn't stop thinking about it- and over the next few days I ran over more things that fascinated, entertained, and just plain satisfied me (I knew the 'secret' of Bordens character in the scene where he says he wants to walk after a performance and his 'assistant' questions whether that is wise- or something to that effect)- but even though I knew there was a doppleganger, I didn't know the exact nature or relationship and the dialogue reveal at the end I found to be enormously satisfying in that respect.

this is one of those rare films that the more I think about it, the more I like it.
What a refreshing change of pace that is after some of the other big films I saw this year where just the opposite was the case.

 

[Pete-D]

Finally saw it yesterday ... wow, and not in a good way.

One of the biggest dissapointments of the year. Contrived, over-plotted, poorly cast (Hugh Jackman ... great as Wolverine, can't really cut it here, no charisma whatsoever), and well, just seems pointless.

The Illusionist is a far, far better film, if you can catch it, save your money and go see that instead.

 

[Phil Florian]

Pete, I have to disagree with Hugh's lack of charisma. Maybe he didn't work for you, but he clearly is a charismatic actor who has even parlayed a fine musical theater career acting and singing on Broadway in "The Boy from Oz" and the revival from "Oklahoma." Plenty of charisma to go around. If you didn't think he was a good match for this character, though, I guess I can understand.

As for contrived, of course it was! It was a plot-heavy work that was planned down to the letter. That is what a good murder-mystery/revenge thriller ought to be. Hitchcock did contrived well, too. If you are using contrived in a differnt sort of mean, though, let me know. Otherwise, to call this contrived can only be in a good way, as folks have alluded to other contrived movies/plays, such as "Sleuth" and "Deathtrap."

Pointless? Of course it isn't...the point was to entertain, engage the brain and have fun (in a dark, grim sort of fun). What other point does it have to have?

 

[DavidJ]

Oh, I too hope it is WB.

 

[MikeRS]

-This is Hugh Jackman's film all the way (can't wait for "The Fountain"). Bale was really good - but Hugh all the way.

-The narrative is consistently more assured than "Batman Begins" (a better script helps). The suspense during the drowning sequences also seemed more riveting than any action set-piece from that previous film.

-The ending was a bit undercut by the fact that the moment the film introduced Borden's bearded engineer, Fallon, I knew immediately that was Christian Bale in disguise. Of course, I didn't immediately guess it was his twin. But when you combine that with Angier making an issue about craving the audience ovation of the Prestige, the dead bird (it just screamed metaphor to me), the Tesla-cloning, and Borden's wife claiming that when he says that he loves her, she can tell on some days he doesn't mean it --- things really began snapping together about how the climax would play for both characters.


Very good, absorbing film.

 

[MishaLauenstein]

No. He was SURPRISED because Michael Caine had told him that drowning was a painless way to die. That's why he chose that method for his suicides. That's why the scene later where Caine tells him he lied and that it's agony is so horrifying.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Ahh yes now I remember that scene.

 

[Doug Miller]

Saw this a second time yesterday, a few things I noticed this time around:

** There were very clear character differences between Alfred/Freddy. The thing with the eyebrow (mentioned in thread) was actually spotty. I felt there were times when it was hard to see or differentiate whether the eyebrow had the shave mark or not -- but that I knew it was Alfred or vice versa by the performance.
** When I saw the movie the first time I thought that Freddy was the one that lived, and was going to assume Alfred's life and care for his child. Seeing it the second time, it was Freddy that was in jail and hung. The comment about "I didn't want anything to happen to Sarah" was the key that it was Freddy in jail, and that he felt sorry that Alfred's wife had died. (Which made me feel better knowing that the daughter's dad actually lived.)
** I realize now that when Sarah told "Alfred" that she was pregnant, that it was actually Freddy. "We should have told Fallon", followed by the "No, today you don't love me, you're more in love with magic."
** Alfred's interaction with Olivia after Sarah's death, where now it was Alfred trying to convince Olivia that he "loved" her, like Freddy had to do before. Good scene.
** Freddy was more of the "bad seed". Not in an evil sense, but ultimately it was Freddy that was responsible for Angier's wife's death. It was Freddy that snapped the birdcage on the lady's hand (in retalliation for having to cut off his fingers) and it was Freddy who ultimately didn't listen to Alfred and ended up getting framed for Angier's murder.

If you saw it once and liked it, I'd highly recommend you see it again. Just don't try staring for eyebrows , just pay attention to the performance. His two characters are wildly different when you know the twist.

Doug

 

[Jefferson Morris]

I had that same thought. I've stayed there a couple of times - gorgeous hotel.

I share some of Haggai's criticisms of certain story elements (particularly the relatively late introduction of the "magical" Tesla human xerox; plus I don't like it when characters have long, expository conversations after being shot), although for some reason I still liked this movie.

Quite a bit, actually. I think Nolan was willing to accept some wobbly story elements because they served his overall theme. That's always a gamble, but I'd say it generally paid off. But it prevents the film from being a true masterpiece, in my opinion.

The interesting thing about the film, to me, is how all of its "twists" are deliberately blown for us early on. Caine says Borden has a double...and he does. He says Tesla's machine is real...and it is. Yet the audience still doesn't want to believe what's right in front of our faces - another theme of the film.

The ending is nicely foreshadowed with the doves - one of whom must always be sacrificed for the trick. I liked that touch.

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Steve Y]

I thought The Prestige was a far superior film to The Illusionist, which was essentially a hackneyed love story which showed its hand way too early (to me anyway) and just went through the motions after that, despite Paul Giamatti's great performance.

Even though I figured out the secret of Boden's Prestige about midway through (they kept his "assistant" too much of a cipher for me NOT to wonder about him - they should have played him not so close to the vest - so I recognized Bale under the makeup), there was enough strange and terrifying themes of consciousness and obsession and trickery (the whole Tesla machine angle with the moral cloning dilemmas left me totally fascinated and thoughtful) to keep me thinking afterward. Great performances all around, too. Someone wrote that this script wouldn't pass scriptwriting 101? Man, that's WAY overstating the case. It wasn't a perfect script, but it was extremely well-constructed.

So not a perfect film - I could have done without the "this is how it happened" speech at the end, too. I also had trouble at first incorporating the metaphysical (Tesla) aspects of the plot into the otherwise "realistic" story, but I got over it after realizing this is what the audience is supposed to feel! Usually these "big secret" movies don't stand up well to multiple viewings, but this one has enough tricks up its sleeve to merit them.

I loved watching Jackman as his "double". He did a great job. And in a movie with an "electric cloning machine", how is this any less believable? I liked the comment someone made above about this being sort of a mythic fable rather than a straight-ahead period piece.

 

[Andy Sheets]

I think Nolan also understands that you need more than just a puzzle, you need a theme that makes it worthwhile. Memento had a lot going on regarding perception and identity and The Prestige deals with obsession.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

I agree. My girlfriend and I also both guessed the identify of Fallon halfway through, in large part because he was left so mysterious. I'm not sure that featuring him more prominently would have solved the problem, though. If it had been Bale in makeup the whole time, we'd likely have spotted that, and if it had been another actor the whole time...we'd have felt like the filmmakers were cheating. A tough call.

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Brent Bridgeman]

Actually, I believe this is Freddy. Olivia is not upset because he doesn't seem to love HER, she is upset that he never mentions Sarah after her suicide. Freddy never loved Sarah, so he could never display the proper grief of a widower when he was with Olivia. Just like Freddy could never display the love to Sarah that he didn't feel.

 

[David_Blackwell]

This discussion thread makes me want to see this film again. JUst a top notch film from all involved. Utterly fantastic.

 

[Josh.C]

I had the urge to bring this thread back up.

This was one of those films that I fealt I should have liked, but for some reason, I left the theater feeling a bit underwhelmed.

The strange thing is, it has taken me until just now to try to explain what was wrong with the film imo.

The acting was strong, the direction was good, the "look" of the film was outstanding, and the film had me intrigued for awhile.

After much pondering I believe the reason I didn't give the Prestige a better rating was two fold. First, there really was no "good guy". I really didn't know who I was pulling for, and in this type of film (a competition between two parties) usually you route for one of the two. At some point in the movie I quit caring about which character I wanted to come out ahead at the end.

Next, I think they lost me a bit with the machine that clones people through some kind of electric current???
I have no problem in believing in fantasy and things that could never happen, but usually the film is more conducive to those types of events happening (i.e. Lady in the Water). I didn't feel it was believable in a film like this, where magicians were trying to perfect their craft through deception and illusion.

That is the best way I can explain it. I definitely think it deserves a second viewing, and maybe it could help clear up some of my criticisms. I can't wait to see the Illusionist, as I missed it in the theaters.

JC

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I personally rooted for Cutter (Michael Caine).