All right, there is a very strong warning with this review. This is a disturbing movie. Not necessarily bad, but disturbing. Please take this caution very seriously. I DO NOT recommend this movie.
For the synopsis, I'm borrowing the synopsis on the official website:
"Award-winning actors Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Cain, and Scarlett Johansson star in The Prestige, the twisting, turning story that, like all great magic tricks, stays with you.
"Two young passionate magicians, Robert Angier (Jackman), a charismatic showman, and Alfred Borden (Bale), a gifted illusionist, are friends and partners until on fateful night when their biggest trick goes horribly wrong.
"Now the bitterest of enemies, they will stop at nothing to learn each other's secrets. As their rivalry escalades into a total obsession full of deceit and sabotage, they risk everything to become the greatest magician of all time. But nothing is as it seems, so watch closely. And be prepared to watch it again and again."
Now this movie really depends on the the "trick" being a secret when you watch, so I'm going to keep it that way.
Pros
~obsession is shown to be the horrible thing it is
~murder is shown as wrong, for whatever reason
~secrecy from your spouse has dire consequences
~every one of your actions has a consequence
~"magic" is shown as just tricks
Cons
~animals are killed just for the pleasure of the audience...and it never shown as a bad thing
~the whole film is dark. Now this could be a con or it could be a pro. Because of the subject matter, I'd almost put it as a pro (the darkness of the films lends to the feeling that the whole idea of what is going on is wrong), but I wanted to put it here to issue another warning that this is indeed a dark, disturbing film
~there are several deaths (really magic tricks gone wrong) and one suicide shown on film
Language
While I didn't count exactly how many, there were quite a few bad words.
Immorality
~One of the men is married at the beginning and they do show him with his wife discussing a trick in their bedroom. Definitely ends up as a fast forward scene.
~The other man is married, but has an affair with his assistant
~All of the female assistants in the film are wearing just a corset with a short (really short) skirt while on stage (which seeing as the film is about magicians on stage, amounts to a lot of time)
Rating
PG-13 for violence and disturbing images
I am once more going to risk beating a dead horse and make completely sure that you know this is a dark film and should only be watched with the full understanding that once you see this movie, you will not be able to forget it.
You might wonder after all these warnings why I've reviewed it. After each viewing our family spends at least an hour discussing it. Going over what was good, what was bad, where the characters made the right decisions, where they made the wrong decisions, etc.
If you have seen this movie, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Tiffany
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Hi Tiffany - I have watched this film too.
ReplyDeleteI agree - it is very dark, and also disturbing. I get really easily scared by films (I'm such a wimp!) and I found it very creepy, and it certainly sticks in your mind for a few days after. I've watched it twice, because it takes a while to understand.
I haven't watched it for about a year, and because it was quite a complicated plot, I can't comment in detail - I have bad memory for films! It's one of those films I'd only recommend very selectively.
I think it does have a moral to it - the way that Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman's characters are contrasted - they are both similar, almost identical and on similar paths, but make very different choices, though both are flawed. Of course, the moral is woven into the story in a very modern way. It isn't black and white - both characters make bad choices, but Hugh Jackman's character is certainly seen as the character who makes the worst choices, and lets obsession and selfishness take over. Christian Bales's character is clearly morally superior to Hugh Jackman's. If I remember rightly - Christian Bales's charcter has an idenitical twin created by the machine, who helps him perform the transportation trick. Hugh Jackman's character destroys each duplicate he creates. Christian Bale's character loves his wife, and cares about others, whereas Hugh Jackman's becomes consumed by his own desires above all else. But you're right - neither character is whiter than white - and certainly Christian Bale's character's life destroys his marriage and involves a lot of deception.
However, I don't *necessarily* see this ambiguity as completely bad. Life isn't black and white - there are shades of grey, and we all make bad choices. The film reflects our sinful natures - though it doesn't provide much to aspire too! It would have been nice to have some light alongside the shade in this film!! It is a pretty gloomy film isn't it? Though very very clever! And of course, I agree with you, it was a shame about the language and a few unnecessary scenes - sadly almost par for the course these days. The killing of the birds - whilst very unpleasant, is period correct, and so I think is a legitimate part of the story, if you see what I mean.
Very interesting film!
Rachel, I think you pointed out exactly why I chose to review this film. The world isn't black and white and this films shows the struggle humans have between black and white. That ambiguity, I believe, is why it generates so much discussion in our household.
ReplyDeleteThank you for you comment! (Even if I was really late in seeing it.)
Tiffany
I liked it, but I saw an edited version.
ReplyDelete