[attrition] review: Movie: The Prestige

[lyger]

http://attrition.org/movies/prestige.html

The Prestige
2006
Czarina

I could start off by making comparisons between this movie and The 
Illusionist, but really the only common element here is the theme of 
magic. While The Illusionist is more of a love story, The Prestige is more 
of a competition between two men for glory and the prestige of being the 
best magician in the world.

Set in 1890's England, the movie opens with a narration of Cutter (Michael 
Caine) explaining the three parts of a magic trick: The Pledge, where the 
magician makes a promise to the audience to do something, The Turn, where 
the magician turns from the audience and performs acts on The Pledge, and 
finally The Prestige, where the magician makes good on the Pledge and the 
stunned audience erupts into thunderous applause.

So here comes my prayer that belief be suspended to a high degree. While I 
loved this film and was surprised by the ending, upon reviewing the film 
to discover where I had missed things, I also allowed my mind to 
overanalyze the plot and then began to see where things couldn't, 
wouldn't, or shouldn't have happened the way they did in the movie. That 
being said, walk in to the film just like you would any other magic 
performance, knowing that you are going to be fooled, but not knowing how 
you're going to be fooled.

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