THE PRESTIGE : Exploring the spicy relationship between two magicians.

 

1. OVERVIEW

    "The secret is useless but the trick you use it for is more valuable"

    "The Prestige" is a Christopher Nolan movie which also stars many great actors such as Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale , Scarlett Johansson and many more, its a movie about two magician who worked under a single magician but due to the difference in their thought process they split up and begin to go against each other. 

    The narrative revolves around two aspiring magicians, each possessing contrasting approaches to their craft. One magician adopts conventional and traditional methods and follows in the footsteps of his master, while the other boldly experiments, occasionally bordering on recklessness and playfulness which he seems to enjoy. Though the two magicians once worked together, a tragic event involving the death of one magician's wife due to the other magician tears them apart. This incident drives them towards a path of vengeance, where they come close to the brink of killing each other.

As they strive to become the best in order to one up each other, their rivalry ignites, leading to a constant tit-for-tat between them.

2.CHARACTERS

    Robert Angier has one of the lead roles in this movie, he is initially the student of John Cutter who does clean magic, with as much less risk as possible, John cutter would be doing fine with respect to his acts, and Angier would completely trust him with his old and used acts even though it would have been reproduced a number of times. 

    Angier loses his wife in one of Cutters acts just because of the fact that Borden would want to try a new knot in his tricks which costs the life of his wife which leads the life long hate for Borden. Hugh Jackman played an amazing role depicting a person would continuously hates Borden his whole life blaming him for his wife, it almost becomes as if he is living only to destroy Borden.

    Coming to Borden he is the kind of person who does not mind trying new things in life and even though he puts other people or himself in risk. He thinks of prestige and dignity when magic is brought up, hence he tends to look for new ways to do his magic which gives him the immense pleasure of doing magic tricks for a living. He is the character who makes the plot all confusing, his acts are not based on any logic, as he thrives with doing out of his free will.   

    Olivia Wenscombe is the female lead character in the movie, although she enters the movie quite late she plays the ever so important role in the film, she is loyal and follows the person whom she thinks is in the right, she enters the lives of these two men in a rather awkward way and she tends to stand in the middle when it comes to whom she is going to support. She also brings in quite the number of twists and turns, she is usually thought of as a person who would follow ones orders without questioning, but instead she would be acting with her own ordeals.

    Moving on to John cutter, he is one of the side characters in the movie, he is the origin of magic to both of the magicians, both of the magicians would be working under him until everything goes wrong and they end up deciding to go their separate ways. He would stand by both of them, although he would lean towards Angier more, since Angier followed his foot steps to the inch. In the beginning when both of the magicians are his students he would be like a father figure to both of them, teaching them the essentials of life and magic, as well as making sure that they are safe and secure by teaching his ideals of playing the tricks safe.

    Finally Nikola Tesla played by the one and only David Bowie has done a great job in depicting the research nature of Tesla and the seriousness he possess whilst he goes for the trial and error method in trying to find the scientific reasons for different phenomenon. He enters into magic on one's request where in he uses the highest level of science in order to prove his skills and bring out the impossible in science and in magic.

    3.CINEMATIC APPEAL

    The movie starts off with a dramatic beginning, to all the readers who might have watched  "Now You See Me", in which the narrator speaks of the elements of magic in an enigmatic way, similarly this movie begins in a mysterious tone. The story efficiently introduces its characters and establishes how the characters are related to each other in a quick succession. However, the non-linear timeline, a signature move by the one and only Christopher Nolan, challenges the audience's understanding of the movie.

        The way Nolan has shot the movie confuses the viewers with the future, the past and the present, the scenes feel like they are mixed up in the beginning and the narration during the movie is done by different characters in the movie during different time lines, which really boggles one’s mind while watching the movie. Although in the end the story finally comes together and the scenes all fit right in like pieces of a puzzle.

    Like all the old timey movies which revolves around the concept of electricity or light bulbs, Nikola Tesla plays a central role in the story, it’s a nice twist to see a scientist taking part in this world of magic and trickery, along with Tesla comes Thomas Edison and although he is not actively taking part in any of the scenes, his presence is consistently felt which I felt it added a nice historical depth to it.  This is another one of Nolan's mind bending direction methods which employ action over dialogue, heightening the tension between the magicians as their spite and obsession for magic as well as their spite for pulling each other down escalates dangerously.

4. PERSONAL OPINION

    The film serves as a constant reminder that seeking revenge blinds one's judgment, and the pursuit of destroying another person's life becomes an all-consuming obsession, in this case I would like to bring in a quote I had read which goes something like "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," aptly captures the film's theme. This particular quote has such a deep meaning, where in the word blind includes both physically harming each other as well as loosing track of things, being lost and being mentally blind and lost.

    Some viewers would usually prefer movies with a simple time line, more and more viewers would rather watch a movie not having to think about it a little too much, I personally don’t mind it, but there are people who would rather watch a movie casually. In this aspect, you can’t really expect anything less than this from Nolan’s movie, if you are ever watching one, make sure to prepare your mind to be flabbergasted. 

    The deaths in the movie are not entirely unexpected but it is a little sad because of the fact, the people who die here are mostly innocent bystanders, to think that just because of the spite of these two magicians, people around them are also getting affected, and just because the two magicians are up against each other, people who actually care about them are being horrendously murdered, and this a devastating thing to see.  

     As the movie progresses, the two magicians start playing mind games with each other, the viewers also start predicting their next move, this goes on for the half the movie, at one point you do realize there is no point in trying to predict how the movie would go, since Nolan would have made sure to add in all kinds of twists and turns. This is one of the aspects due to which I or the viewers don’t get bored watching the movie, even though it is an old movie and you would probably think, you would have already witnessed all the elements of a movie based on magic.

     The ending is as teeth clenching as a Nolan's movie ever can be it's extremely unexpected and it ties all the knots, the viewers are kept to wonder what actually happened in the end and there have been multiple foreshadowing during the movie what a viewer would have missed and this makes the viewers want to watch the movie again, just to see the brilliance in the movie making.

5. CONCLUSION

     I would rate this movie 3.5/5 stars, This movie places emphasis three acts - Introduction, Pledge, and Prestige, the introduction includes showcasing and introducing the prop used for magic, next is the Pledge where the magician makes a particular component disappear and finally the Prestige which is where the magician makes the prop reappear, true applause is reserved for the moment of reappearing, not simply for making something vanish. Hence Prestige is the most important part of the magic trick. I loved the way they title of the movie was explained and how much the title made sense after the climax. It was as if everything came together in a nice harmony.

    Beyond the web of secrets, "The Prestige" emphasizes the significance of captivating presentation, however good maybe the trick is, it is nothing without the presentation which is what makes the trick believable. More than the mere trick, it is the artistry, prestige, and dignity associated with it that truly matter to the magicians,  as mentioned in the beginning the secret to the trick is of no use, until you know how to make use the secret to bring about a dramatic trick out of it.    

    The escalating mind games between the two rivals reach astounding heights, leaving audiences on the edge of their seats. The film's ending is characteristic of Nolan's style, being extremely unexpected and skillfully tying together all loose ends. It leaves viewers pondering the events that transpired and stimulates the desire to revisit the film to uncover hidden details and foreshadowing they might have missed.