Funnily enough, I’m not a massive fan of Christopher Nolan’s films. I like the Batman stuff well enough, but I found Inception to be almost unwatchable despite it being many people’s favourite film.
I think that Nolan’s best film by far is The Prestige. Indeed, I go through periods of watching this film over and over. There are so many hidden joys on repeated viewings and hints of what’s actually going on in the story.
This isn’t just a film about a trick – the film itself is a very clever trick. The script is magic, as are the performances. Bale is great but my favourite is Hugh Jackman, by turns hilarious and moody in his dual performances.
Also great is the late David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, who seems to play the part by way of Ricky Gervais (or is it the other way round?)
So what I’d recommend about this film is that you watch it twice. Watch it once the first time, and then the next night watch it again and marvel at how well the films plays a second time and reveals more about the first trick viewing. The film isn’t a one-trick pony by any means.
The girls are great too, Scarlet proves the perfect Debbie McGee (if only Paul had been so lucky).
So, 42 films to go…
Matthew Cooper has written for Emmerdale, Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs. He was winner of the first ever Lloyds Bank Channel Four Film Challenge and the Oscar Moore Screenplay Prize. His first short film starred a then unknown Ewan McGregor and was picked up by Channel Four when Matthew was 19 years old. He’s been a script writer for hire and filmmaker for hire for over 20 years.