Obsession

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  • Title: The Prestige
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“Every great magic trick consists of three acts.  The first act is called ‘The Pledge.’  The magician shows you something ordinary, but of course it probably isn’t.  The second act is called ‘The Turn.’  The magician makes his ordinary something do something extraordinary.  Now, if you’re looking for the secret you won’t find it, that’s why there’s a third act called ‘The Prestige.’  This is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you’ve never seen before.”
 

The PrestigeThe film opens with Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) on trial for the murder of Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), who was killed during his final performance.  The magician who gave both men their start (Michael Caine) is present, as witness, to tell the tale.

The film goes back in time, to tell the story of how the two got their start, their tragic marriages (with Piper Perabo, and Rebecca Hall), their competing affection for a magician’s assistant (Scarlett Johansson), and the event which caused the hatred and rivalry between them.

Director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins) weaves a marvelous tale of illusion, half-truths, buried secrets, murder, and most of all obsession.  Like this year’s earlier entry The Illusionist the film involves the secrets of an illusion, and plot twists.  The Prestige succeeds where the other failed in that it doesn’t make the twists and secrets the whole story, instead it’s the obsession between the two men, not their secrets, which takes center stage.

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