The Prestige

In The Prestige, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman portrayed rival magicians, who competed to outdo one another in magic performances. However, their true motive is vying for a kind of immortality. They are fighting for the trust of the same audience. And they need all of that trust to themselves, since trust is something that cannot be shared. Each magician strives to inspire awe and beliefs in their viewers - just as Nolan wishes to do with his own audience - as though such an accomplishment would bestow divinity on the achiever, whether it is based on deception and illusion or not.

Nolan starts The Prestige with a scene of top hats strewn over the jungle floor, while a voice-over asks quietly, "Are you looking closely?" It is a snapshot out of space and out of time in comparison with the rest of the movie; Nolan altered our sense of what we are seeing and when, in order to replicate the three important stages of the "magic" acts shown in the film.

Nolan seems to think that human religion is founded on falsehoods that we feed ourselves and others - a theory he elaborates throughout his Batman films later on - suggesting that symbols are revered not for their reality, but for the inspiration they generate.

Release year: 2006

IMDB score: 8.5/10

Metascore: 66/100