The GeekHiker

Rented “The Prestige” last night.  It’s the second “magic in a period piece” movie I’ve rented in the last month, the first being “The Illusionist” a film which I enjoyed immensely.

There’s actually very little that is similar about the two, other than the fact that they employ magic as their centerpieces.  That said, “The Prestige” certainly had the higher budget, more “A-list” casting, etc. than “The Illusionist”.  The script wasn’t particularly more complex, but it did take shifts in time and perspective, at various points the same events in the story being presented from the differing perspectives of the two main characters.  All of this enjoyable, and would have found it more so, perhaps, if I hadn’t figured out what was going on by about halfway through, which made the remaining part of the film merely a race to the finish to see which character ended up on top.

That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the film, as I did.  If I had to recommend between the two, though (and in America, one knows that we must always, always have “a favorite”), I would come down on the side of “The Illusionist”.  The film is slower, more deliberately paced (though never boring) and the acting more nuanced, I think, than in “The Prestige”.

And, it’s got Paul Giamatti, who could make the art of watching paint dry interesting.

But rent both I say.  Have a “magic in a period piece” double feature.  Would make for a nice evening.  Trust me.