The Prestige
Nov. 22nd, 2006 01:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackI think dragonwoodshed summed it up with "I liked it. I keep telling myself that." (It was great to meet you *cuddle*.)
That is, it was very good, but hard to pigeonhole.
Two stage magicians have a long rivalry that gets grimmer and grimmer. They're both enjoyable, thought I got all the people in dashing tails muddled up for a bit. It's hard to decide who becomes most psychotic by the end.
It's beautiful to watch, the actors, the clothes, the effects. A lot of the grimmest things are portrayed with the briefest of glimpses.
The various twists are fun to follow. I think I caught most of them coming, sometimes only by moments, except for the big ones at the end.
Fascinatingly, we discover Nichola Tesla built a *real* magic trick, but the world won't accept any more great discoveries from him. I love the boldness of having a film superficially realistic, with this slowly coming out.
This in actual fact duplicates the magician. And Danton uses it as a teleportation trick -- each copy falling into a escapist's tank of water to drown. He says it took much courage to do it every night, "not knowing if he's be the one in the tank, or the one with the prestige". I thought this was an interesting perspective on duplication -- you will be both, but in retrospect, the "I don't know which" is an accurate view.
It made me rethink the "would you duplicate yourself" poll. I think I still would -- but by the five gods not by drowning!
That is, it was very good, but hard to pigeonhole.
Two stage magicians have a long rivalry that gets grimmer and grimmer. They're both enjoyable, thought I got all the people in dashing tails muddled up for a bit. It's hard to decide who becomes most psychotic by the end.
It's beautiful to watch, the actors, the clothes, the effects. A lot of the grimmest things are portrayed with the briefest of glimpses.
The various twists are fun to follow. I think I caught most of them coming, sometimes only by moments, except for the big ones at the end.
Fascinatingly, we discover Nichola Tesla built a *real* magic trick, but the world won't accept any more great discoveries from him. I love the boldness of having a film superficially realistic, with this slowly coming out.
This in actual fact duplicates the magician. And Danton uses it as a teleportation trick -- each copy falling into a escapist's tank of water to drown. He says it took much courage to do it every night, "not knowing if he's be the one in the tank, or the one with the prestige". I thought this was an interesting perspective on duplication -- you will be both, but in retrospect, the "I don't know which" is an accurate view.
It made me rethink the "would you duplicate yourself" poll. I think I still would -- but by the five gods not by drowning!