Another film I could have nominated for the Hugos if I'd seen it in time; oh well.The Wife and I watched The Prestige last night, which, I may have mentioned, we've had lying around for about two weeks now. I'd like to say that I was hoping to read the Christopher Priest novel first, but it was just procrastination.
This is the kind of movie that it does not pay to talk too much about, since it's about magicians and their secrets. So I'll be vague: it starts out with a scene that pretty clearly shows one character murdering another, and then, after a short trial, we move backward through two interlocking flashback sequences to learn more about their shared history. And, as one would expect from a movie like this, things often do not turn out to be what they at first seem to be.
Some audiences don't seem to like some of the twists, but...being vague again...I suspect most of the people reading this blog would enjoy following this particular plot, and would pick up on many of the allusions and fill out in their own minds the ideas involved. So, if you're reading this, and have any interest at all in the story of the rivalry of two stage magicians around the turn of the last century, I think you'd find this an interesting movie to watch.
2 comments:
It was my favorite movie of last year and may emerge as one of my favorite movies of all time, though time of course will tell. Damn near flawless masterpiece.
In my mania to avoid plot spoilers, I seem to have forgotten to mention that I actually liked this movie. I don't think I loved it as much as Lou did, but it was a very good movie.
(Though I think I liked Stranger Than Fiction a bit better, which may show a preference for metaphysics over melodrama.)
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