Some of my fondest memories from childhood came from seeing David Copperfield with my dad. Given his ability to make the Statue of Liberty disappear and walk through the Great Wall of China, the occassional visit by the master of illusions through West Texas was always seemed like a pretty big deal. Granted, his showmanship was a bit over the top at times and maybe a bit too fabulous in that Liberace sense, but there was always something a bit more nostalgic to his magic compared to his contemporaries like Penn & Teller. David Copperfield's illusions seemed to harken back to the classic magicians who were all about flashy distractions and selling the magic. So I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that I found David Copperfield listed as one of the magic consultants on The Prestige as I sat through the ending credits yesterday.
Set in London around the turn of the twentieth century, The Prestige follows the antagonistic relationship between Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), two rising stage magicians who have built up a bitter feud around the death of Angier's wife. I won't say much more about the plot. Nicola Tesla (David Bowie) has a prominent place in this story, which, if I knew more about the history between him and Thomas Edison, I probably would have geeked out about more. The movie takes some concentration to follow as director Christopher Nolan harkens back a little to his Memento days with his use of a nonlinear timeline. And like an intricate magic trick, The Prestige moves in a way that has you set-up and still trying to figure out all the details by the time the final act comes around. The final reveal make come as a disappointment, but so does any magic trick when you figure out how they really did it.
Christian Bale continues to prove that he can create a character subtley different than any other role he has done before. Think about it. He's gone from psychopath narcissistic serial killer in American Psycho, to reluctant dragonslayer in Reign of Fire, to paranoid insomniac in The Machinist, to revenge-seeking Dark Knight in Batman Begins. I'm really digging his work. Hugh Jackman isn't half bad either as an obsessed man hell bent on getting the best of his rival in his quest for revenge.
Rounding out the cast is a typically good performance by Michael Caine on cruise control, and Scarlett Johansson playing the magician's assistant in a role that tries to develop a love triangle that never really takes off and probably wasn't necessary except for one important plot point.
I'm a bit surprised that more movies about magic aren't made. Perhaps with all the flashy special effects and split second edits of today, magic tricks don't captivate audiences quite like they used to. Too bad. I think there's something to be said about a carefully developed illusion that takes its time to develop. Go see The Prestige and remind yourself what it's like.
**** (out of *****)
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Abracadabra! HC? Physics!
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4 comments:
It was definitely a good flick, and I did understand the feud between Edison's DC and Tesla's AC, and I did geek out. (Edison's DC won out in the end because of the popularity of one of his DC-using inventions; the electric chair.)
The Prestige is a good flick, and worth the price at least of a matinee. I recommend The Illusionist more, however, as the acting (a tad better - hey, it's Ed Norton and Paul Giacomo), cinematography, and set design alone are worth it. It also doesn't depend on a big suspension of disbelief to sell the story, as I think The Prestige does.
Haven't had the chance to see The Illusionist yet. But do you know what the female leads in each movie (Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson) have in common besides both being in magician movies this year?
Finally, my wife and I sat down to watch this, and I was stoked when my wife pegged it early on how Borden did it.
Maybe the magic still is interesting to me because I still have to question how he would show up on the balcony. My only thought is that there were always 2 Angiers, or he perfected where the double would show up.
And what do the two have in common?
They were both named Esquire magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive (Biel in 2005, Johansson in 2006). And if you believe all the recent celeb tabloids, they've both spent a night with Justin Timberlake. This is what I learn from the magazine subscriptions that come to my house. Shameful.
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