Fall is upon us, and that means Oscar buzz has taken over the box office. Most of the movies expected to garner praise and an Academy Award nomination are being released in time for the ceremony in February. However, I'm convinced writer/director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins) just happenedupon his latest film The Prestige, opening in October and starting Oscar talk.
First of all, Nolan cast half of Batman Begins -- Michael Caine and Christian Bale -- in the suspense/sci-fi about competing magicians who get caught up in the obsession of learning how one another's tricks work, then set out on improving them. The casts lead me to believe that when Nolan, Caine and Bale were on the set of Batman Begins, someone (my true theory is a drunken Caine) brought up a story about magicians, and they decided to call up Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson and make the film on a whim.
I liken this type of filmmaking to Steven Soderbergh's Oceans Eleven because to me, The Prestige seems like it was made just because the actors and director all knew each other and felt like fooling around with a suspense movie just for the hell of it. Their talent ranges from the experience of an elder statesman in Caine to the basic Hollywood talent of "stand there and look pretty" in Johansson, so why couldn't they?
With this in mind, if in fact they did make this film on a lark to appease their own personal passions, then the talent involved in this cast is pretty powerful. Nolan's ability to tell a story out of chronological order yet still not lose the interest of the viewer has been shown before in Memento. In The Prestige, Nolan tells stories from three periods in the lives of two magicians Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale, in a rare role using his British accent).
The film starts toward the end of the overall story as we hear Borden ask, "Are you watching closely?" This question is asked several times throughout as Nolan sets the story line up as if the entire film was one big magic trick.
Without Nolan's initial and subsequent warnings to watch closely, there are several things a casual viewer might miss. The twists and turns are so sharp, yet Nolan leaves little clues along the way to help the viewer. This is great filmmaking.
The film is also a true character study as obsession through dedication consumes each of the magicians and summarily ruins both of their lives in the process.
No true antagonist/protagonist setup is presented as both Angier and Borden pull scams horrible enough to invoke suicide, murder and the death of many small birds.
A synopsis of the entire film can't really be explained, as to not ruin the suspense, but in general this is the story of two men who are so secretive about their professions that even their everyday lives are a lie.
There is a thick suspense, superior acting ability (including that of David Bowie and Andy Serkis) and 18th century period piece dialogue that take you to another world and give a glimpse into this highly competitive and mysterious world of magic.
While the film will probably drop off the radar at the box office in the coming weeks, there is no telling how far it might go in the eyes of critics and in claiming awards. Nolan's ability to fascinate an audience through direction is something everyone should take note of and -- although confusing at times -- the complexity in his screenwriting puts him at the top of his filmmaking ability.
Grade: A
