And for my next trick

THE PRESTIGE

( WARNING : SPOILERS )

This is a movie solely driven by the bitter animosity between two men, played by Bale and Jackson. If you take that away, there’s nothing left. Having their rivalry escalate throughout the movie made me feel increasingly uncomfortable. For me, that’s not what I’d call an enjoyable cinema experience.

The plot (which jumps between time periods all through the movie) considers itself far cleverer than it actually is. The twist at the end is quite obvious long before it’s actually revealed, mostly because of the heavy-handed hints given to us along the way. And the final scene, which was meant to have some shock value to it, ends up being more like “well yeah, we guessed that already”.

Still, it is a movie that tries its best to keep you on your toes and some of the more confusing plot points would no doubt be cleared up by a repeat viewing. A fine cast and exceptional production make the movie watchable at the very least.

The Good

Christian Bale: as ever, he devotes himself entirely to the role and pulls off another amazing performance.
The production: London of old lives and breathes in this movie. Absolutely exquisite to behold.

The Bad

The plot: The disjointed timeline of the movie seems a bit old hat after having carried off a similar device in Memento. And the whole movie is just a glut of negative emotions.