Ever since I’ve decided to be an amateur film critic - or, at least, since I’ve started to air that side of my psyche here on the interwebs - I’ve found it difficult to get wrapped up in too many movies. I still enjoy going to the movies and taking part in the escape for a few hours, and I love talking with my friends about our thoughts on certain films, but criticism and awe are often, for good reason, mutually exclusive. It’s a welcome relief, then, when a film can so involve me that I find myself lost in it, completely forgetting that I’m seeing it in part because I want to write a review of it. Christopher Nolan is the kind of director who has proven that he can do exactly that, and his The Prestige, an intriguing tale of two turn of the century magicians locked in a lifelong game of one-upmanship, is no exception.

The magicians are Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale), who first meet when they are assistants (not the pretty, scantily clad kind…that’s later in the movie, in the form of the incomparable Scarlett Johansson) to ingeneur Cutter (Michael Caine). After a daring trick goes wrong, Borden splits from Angier and Cutter to form his own act. Motivated by that once incident, the two magicians enter into a rivalry that has them interfering in each other’s lives and careers for years to come.

To divulge much more of the plot would be to rob potential viewers of the marvelous twists and turns that Nolan sets up. He structures the movie in the same way that Cutter explains a magic trick is set up: he diverts your attention by making you marvel at the intricate machines used in each man’s illusions or Angier and Borden’s rivalry so well that you barely have time to guess at what the stunning finale will be. Jackman and Bale, for their part, are dark, mysterious, and compelling, and Caine adds a dry with and wisdom to his role that flavors the two lead performances nicely.

Stylish, intriguing, and a load of fun to watch and dissect long after you’ve left the theater, The Prestige is the smart moviegoer’s ideal film. If even the top-rated movies of the year thus far have left you wanting more, this film will reaffirm all the reasons you want to see movies.

Rating: * * * * 1/2 of 5

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