Notes: A friend of mine had requested that i review this movie. It seems he had liked the movie pretty much and also liked my way of reviewing(he he he). So here goes my review. Its been about two years since I last saw this movie. So, if there are inaccuracies in the detailing mentioned, sorry about those-human memory does hurt a lot.
The Review: It was once upon a time in 2007 that i cashed in upon a DVD titled Prestige in my uncle's house. It was a sleepy afternoon which was drenched on the outside and i was pretty sleepy. The tagline said, "Are you watching closely?". I saw the director's name, it said "Christopher Nolan". I had heard of Nolan's name for the first time then. So i thought, if it was a boring tale it would aid me in sleeping(the thing is i was really tired, but i couldnt sleep. I needed a "driving force" for that :D). And hence i switched on the DVD.
The first five minutes were pretty confusing with multiple images showing entirely different setups, and the background sound explaining about the various stages in a magic trick-the pride, the act and the prestige respectively. And then Bale asked, "Are you watching closely?". I didnt.
I ended up staying awake at the edge of the sofa all afternoon. I just couldnt sleep. The tale was so absorbing that it woke me up from sleep(near sleep that is) and forced me to concentrate the entire sleepy afternoon.
So what made the drastic change?? One point is the excellently complicated screenplay. The very prospect of writing three parallel narratives is tough enough. And Nolan manages to direct them(without confusing himself) and manages to keep the viewer thoroughly engaged(without confusing the viewer as well). Forget all the gaffes about Tesla and the crazy things about replication and all, the main narrative and the two flashbacks inserted within just gripped me thoroughly. The second strong point is the acting. Christian Bale is anyway a good actor, and you have Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine backing him up. So no problems in the male category. In the female compartment, Scarlett pulls off a good show(astonishingly!!!). So the acting remained pretty solid. And Bale did his double roll very well(remember, he didnt require all the Plaster of Paris that Pitt required in Benjamin Button).
The make up was fantastic. I didnt realise the Bale double until the climax. With all the cap and the beard and the moustache, one Bale was always hidden beneath. To compliment this, the cinematography was excellent. It throwed up all the many important details in the tiniest of frames-so you gotta actually watch closely to decipher the film before its climax.
The dialogues were pretty
good. Especially the opening lines, punch dialogues from Bale, and the
closing lines from Jackman(about how he revered the audience and how he
feared going into the chamber again and again).The sets in the
background added to the early nineteenth century feel.
Added to this, the sub-currents of treachery, jealousy, rivalry and the tales about the complicated living of a magician added to the film's magic. The movie might have as well been named "the jealousy, the competition and the prestige" :D. Its these subdued emotions which carried the movie forward. Add to this, the subtlety in Nolan's screenplay (for example, the different sets of costumes and color tones to distinguish different time periods) only added to the impact. You are finally stunned by all the subtleness adding to one big force which culminates in the climax.
The climax-just watch it. Seriously, if you had watched the first ten minutes of the film "closely"(as Bale reminds you time and again), you might have as well deciphered the film in the next twenty minutes. Anyways, Prestige is a ride thats worth all the time you put in. One of Nolan's famed masterpieces.
@All budding screenwriters: Do learn some screen-writing tips from this movie. I also suggest the movie "Crash" for inputs. Marvellous screen-writing efforts both of them..
Did you read closely???
cheers,
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