By Joe Pudas
The Daily cardinal
Although maverick director Christopher Nolan burst upon the scene with the scrappy low-budget noir ""Following"" in 1998, it was 2001's ""Memento"" that gave film buffs reason to observe his every subsequent move.
Of his three big budget follow-ups to ""Memento,"" which also include the brilliant 2002 thriller ""Insomnia"" and last year's fantastic ""Batman Begins,"" his newest, ""The Prestige,"" is easily his worst film.
And it's one of the best movies of this year.
Following closely on the heels of the much inferior ""The Illusionist,"" ""The Prestige"" is the dark, tangled story of two rival magicians vying for revenge and popularity in London at the turn of the 19th Century. Borden (Christian Bale) and Angier (Hugh Jackman) start out as magicians' assistants, but soon develop enough innovative tricks and illusions to make names for themselves on competing stages. A tragic mishap involving a malfunctioning dunk tank results in the death of Angier's wife and the birth of a prolonged, extremely bitter rivalry between the two up-and-coming illusionists.
Bale's ""Batman Begins"" co-star Michael Caine returns as a veteran engineer of illusion-producing devices who is a mentor of sorts to Angier, and David Bowie gives a surprisingly terrific performance as mysterious inventor Nikola Tesla.
Scarlett Johannson also factors in to the proceedings, albeit as slightly more than voluptuous eye candy, as a scantily clad assistant whose loyalties bounce around as freely as her tightly corseted bosom. In a year rife with embarrassing Johannson appearances (she was an overwhelmed victim of Brian De Palma's shrill histrionics in ""The Black Dahlia"" and was downright awful alongside Jackman in Woody Allen's ""Scoop""), this is her first successful performance. Relative unknown Rebecca Hall is also effective as Borden's long-suffering wife.
The leads are both as superb as you'd expect, with Bale spouting a rough Londoner accent and Jackman trying on a smooth American one.
Although Bale usually receives the accolades he deserves, thanks in part to his proclivity for accepting uniquely challenging assignments, Jackman is too frequently associated with the character of Wolverine in the ""X-Men"" movies. Hopefully his solid showing in ""The Prestige"" will be one of many upcoming performances that will show his career is not limited to Wolverine, soggy romantic comedies and mega-budget hokum. Even in shoddy movies like ""Scoop,"" where his suave presence offset Johannson's strained, zany shenanigans, Jackman pulls his share of the weight, and here he admirably matches Bale step for step.
The always-great Caine has what is probably the most pivotal supporting role in the movie, as his explanation of a magic act's fundamental structure foreshadows the film's labyrinthine plotting.
Unsurprisingly, it's the taut script by Nolan and his brother, Jonathan, that comes across as most impressive aspect of ""The Prestige,"" but Nolan's direction expertly brings it to life. After only a few movies, you can spot the wholly distinctive Nolan touch a mile away — swooping wide-angle shots of panoramic vistas, liberal heapings of atmospheric dread, cues of misdirection so subtle that repeat viewings are virtually required — and once again, Nolan crafts a nonlinear puzzler that's always a pleasure to watch.
The only major flaw in ""The Prestige"" is its lack of an emotional center, as our allegiances to the dueling magicians constantly shift; while Nolan's other films only give us one tortured, obsessive protagonist to rally our support behind. But even though Borden and Angier are kind of unlikable bastards, they're a lot of fun to watch, and as their schemes escalate, Nolan mercilessly dishes out suspense in spades.
What the film lacks in heart it makes up for with some of the most intricate, tantalizing twists in any recent movie. Like a wonderful magic trick, ""The Prestige"" still maintains a shroud of secrecy after its conclusion. The trailer's insistence that you watch closely is not a suggestion, it's an admonishment; the more you pay attention, the more you'll be rewarded. If ""The Prestige"" is Nolan's worst movie, it's starting to look like he can do no wrong.
