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Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play Robert and Alfred, two young English magicians aiding their mentor, Cutter (Michael Caine), with his magic show along with Robert's wife Julia (Piper Perabo) in a time when convincing magic tricks were the height of entertainment and people were willing to pay mightily for the greatest tricks.

Robert and Alfred are passable friends and co-workers...that is, until an onstage accident costs Julia her life and Robert is convinced Alfred is to blame, kicking off a bloody feud that will continue for many years.

Now Alfred is married with a daughter and rising in the ranks of magicians, though his lack of showmanship skills keep him from rising TOO high. Robert, with Cutter as his stage engineer, is quickly becoming one of the most popular magicians despite his engineer's botched reputation resulting from Julia's death. Unfortunately, nothing can turn these two men from their hateful rivalry, a rivalry which will ultimately destroy everyone around them and likely cost them their own lives.

Are you watching closely?

This film was brilliantly executed with a wonderfully dark plot that is pretty nearly impossible to guess ahead of time. Once you think everything is resolved and know how it will end, it twists again! I loved the ending of this movie most of all as it is one that really plays with the mind, makes the impossible possible, and is completely unpredictable.

For me, a great ending is what makes the movie and I want one that will have me thinking for quite some time afterward. While this movie fits the bill very well in that respect, it also has great acting and astounding special effects. This is a very dark movie, I think the closest I can get for a genre is a psychological thriller.

At the outset the narrator tells us of the three parts of a magic trick - The Pledge: where the magician tells you what he is going to do, The Turn: in which the actual trick is performed (something disappears, someone is sawn in half), and The Prestige: when that which has been turned is brought back. The movie itself has also been divided into these parts. It sets the stage, it twists and turns until you reach "the present", and then finally reveals how it was all done.

The Prestige will be difficult to top, in my mind, for movies of its kind. The acting, the story, the cast, the effects...all were top-notch and achieved an amazing overall film. This movie can be hard to follow, so you'll have to watch pretty closely. Since the first viewing, I have purchased the film and watched it many more times. In each subsequent viewing, I've continued to pick up little tidbits that were missed before, obscure connections and all sorts of other such details that you don't even know to look for until you've discovered other details. In all, a film I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys movies that will make you think and keep you coming back for more.

Learn more about this author, Rebecca Brown.
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