The Prestige (2006)

See? I wasn't kidding when I said there were more RE-views in store.

And I bet you didn't even know that a Johansson/Hall double bill was possible.

As per usual when watching something surprising or twisty, particularly if you were surprised, watching it a second time makes you wonder how you could have been fooled. I watched this with a friend who had never seen it, and she was like, "Obviously that guy is his twin." I threw her off the scent, inquiring incredulously, "You think that guy looks like Christian Bale?" She admitted that he didn't, but, seriously, why didn't I notice it before? He doesn't talk! He's always hanging around! Suspicious stuff, man.

Instead, I made a game of figuring out which one he was in any given scenes. Certain scenes, like the ones with Sarah (the still terrific Hall) and Olivia (a less irritated although still unnecessarily English Johansson) or when he is in jail, are more obvious, but it's still a pretty fun game in the second viewing. On the other hand, thinking about this twins business for too long can make you disappointed that you just watched an entire movie to learn absolutely nothing about one of the central characters. Why are the Bordens so obsessed with magic that they are willing to live only half a life to pursue it? The Nolans won't be giving you the answer.

I was once again bowled over by Jackman's performance. Angier is the real villain of the piece, a man so hell bent on revenge for so long that even the reason for his obsession pales in comparison to pursuing it. It's his steadfast belief that Borden could not, under any circumstances, be using a double that drives a lot of the action, and he plays it so well. With Jackman as Angier, has a blood curdling believable quality to it: if he could just understand how Borden works. I love how something so seemingly simple (if he could just) leads to so much complication.

I didn't realize upon first viewing that there were two prestiges at the end: Borden and Angier each get their own prestige. It never occurred to me that we were supposed to think that Telsa (the subdued but still rockin' David Bowie), discovering that the machine duplicated rather than transported, would "fix" the machine. It was more a question of what Angier was going to do with all the extra Angiers, and I figured that one out soon enough. Still, it's the more devastating reveal for the audience; the two Bordens is most devastating to Angier alone.

While I may not feel exactly the same watching this as I did the first time around, it's still a superbly crafted fantasy/thriller and an excellent allegory for filmmaking. Original grade stands: A