The Prestige: Real Magic

I am doing this movie out of release date order since I want to keep the two Batman films together; The Prestige was released in between the two of them. This movie was adapted from a book written by Christopher Priest, and is probably one of the best adaptations ever produced. This is not because of the faithfulness to the plot; for the most part, it is the same story, but changes are made for dramatic and medium purposes. Nolan is obviously a man who understands that books and film are two completely different media, and something that may work in one may not work in the other. No, this is a great adaptation because the movie stays true to the themes of the book, most notably, the idea of obsession.

Taking place in London at the end of the 19th century, The Prestige follows the careers of two stage magicians, starting at their humble beginnings and following them through their struggles, their fame and fortune, and their obsessions, which threaten to tear them apart. However, we don't see these occur in that order. The story begins toward the end, chronologically, and we are filled in on past events through diaries. To make matters even more complex, Christian Bale's Alfred Borden reads the diary of his rival (Hugh Jackman's Robert Angier), much of which is comprised of Angier reporting on the findings from reading Borden's diary. We often see events from one perspective that take on a new meaning once we see them from another (sort of like misdirection, a staple of all magic tricks).

Most of the action is from Angier's perspective, and we are endeared to him as he tries to compete with the shadowy Borden. Angier is a terrific showman; he can add class and flair to any illusion. Unfortunately, he needs to have the methods of illusions explained to him. It is very hard for him to discern where the trick lies on his own. Borden, on the other hand, is a master of illusions, but he needs help developing his ability to entertain. Each man strives to be a great magician, and if they were to work together, their success would have known no bounds. Unfortunately, due to a tragic event, they become bitter enemies.

Initially, Angier becomes obsessed with getting revenge on Borden, believing he is responsible for the death of Angier's wife. When Borden unveils a phenominal teleportation illusion, Angier's new mission (obsession) is to understand how it works. Borden's obsession is protecting his secret at all costs. Angier, along with his engineer and on-stage assistant, stage a knock-off that impresses audiences due to its flashiness, but Angier's obsession with performing the trick the way Borden does threatens everything else in his life. Of course, Borden's life is no easier, despite what Angier believes. Borden is so protective over his secret that he keeps his own family in the dark about it, and stays in character as his on-stage persona whenever he is in public, much to the chagrin of his wife.

The lengths that each man goes to in order to fulfill their obsession are incredible. I've talked about obsession before, in my posts about Sweeney Todd, where I noted that it can destroy the obsessor. The situation is no different here; death may not be the result, but as the old saying goes, there are fates much worse than death. Each man is willing to lose nearly everything (one does have something they truly care about aside from themselves), even forsake things they once held very dear.

Of course, watching how obsession destroys us would be pointless if we didn't care about who was being destroyed. Nolan effectively creates intriguing characters that we can feel an attachment to withing the first act of the film. And not only that, he does so by revealing bits and pieces of their history out of order. Granted, he had great source material to work with, but Priest had much more time to set things up since books can be as long as the author wishes.

Up next: Fear itself...