Right, so perhaps I am on a Christopher Nolan kick here. I think I have found my new favourite director/writer.
I watched this again on the weekend as well, and realized almost instantly, that I would also like to comment on it. What a moral mind bend this one is. I feel it should’ve gotten SO much more attention, but was buried because it came out at the same time as The Illusionist with Edward Norton. Just to clarify, The Prestige has a much more well-known cast comprised of Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johanson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Caine, and yes, even David Bowie. REALLY great movie. If you haven’t seen it – I would recommend it.
One thing though – it’s VERY dark. The movie itself visually is quite dark, but the moods, motifs, morals, messages… very dark. But again, a movie I would call a thinker. Yes, it has the trademark Nolan twist at the end… but for goodness sake, it’s a movie about Magicians!!! You can’t very well expect a straight forward ending right?
The movie makes you think, though, about what people are willing to sacrifice. And how easy it is as an audience to be fooled. Not just in the case of a magic trick. But also, when it comes to us as the audience watching the movie, with regards to which character we are supposed to empathize with. The first time I watched this movie, I felt bad for Hugh Jackman’s character. He was the one who lost his wife in the first place. And he was the one who fought so hard to beat the other man at his own game. Be the better magician. And he loses his life in the process. Poor him. And yet, Christian Bale’s character also loses his wife. And in his case, his wife chose to die – chose to leave him whereas for Hugh, his wife died through accidental causes. So perhaps, in the end, it is Christian’s character who deserves our sympathy. Besides, Hugh’s character almost bring on his own demise when you think about it – he was so obsessed with revenge. So consumed with making Christian pay for the death of his wife that he couldn’t see beyond that. Couldn’t even open himself to being happy with Scarlett Johanson. And yet. Christian was even more obsessed. To the point that he was willing to live only half of his actual life. Looking at it that way, they are both equally damnable. And equally wretched.
These two men remind me of Shakespeare’s tragic heros. They are good men, but with one large flaw that gets exploited. And what, most often than not, is this mortal flaw? Why, ego of course. The desire to be the best of the best. That, and revenge. The desire to destroy all those who have trifled you in the past. Those two almost always show up in Shakespeare’s plays as the ultimate element causing the hero’s demise. No different in Nolan’s movie.
I really did enjoy this movie – the twists, the turns, and the fact that, the second time around, you again get more from it.
Whereas with Inception, you are merely gleaning information to fill in gaps on the second time around, with The Prestige, knowing the twist at the end, you catch more phrases, and the scenes play out differently once you have that information on the second viewing.
One of my favorite things, besides writing about these movies, is watching them with people that haven’t seen them before. If you have not had the pleasure, let me know! I’d be happy to watch it with you. But even happier to discuss it with you afterwards.
Thanks for reading!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment