Scipio
10-30-2006, 10:23 AM
This movie was excellent. I went to see a matinee last Saturday with my girlfriend, and was predisposed to like the movie because I was friends in college with the screenwriter Jonathan Nolan. My expectations were met.
The broad outline is that the movie, told mostly in flashback, is the exploration of the relationship between two magicians in Victorian England, who start out working together but become bitter rivals. At the beginning, one magician, played by Christian Bale, is charged with the murder of the other magician, played by Hugh Jackman. The flashbacks explore their rivalry, the consequences of Jackman's character's death, and the amazing Nikola Tesla's role in their lives. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum, makes a great appearance as Tesla's assistant, and David Bowie is startlingly profound as Tesla.
The best performance in the film belongs to Michael Caine, the master engineer behind the illusions Jackman's character makes come alive. Caine is as understated here as he was in Batman Begins as Alfred, again directed by Nolan, opposite Christian Bale. I recommend this film heartily.
The broad outline is that the movie, told mostly in flashback, is the exploration of the relationship between two magicians in Victorian England, who start out working together but become bitter rivals. At the beginning, one magician, played by Christian Bale, is charged with the murder of the other magician, played by Hugh Jackman. The flashbacks explore their rivalry, the consequences of Jackman's character's death, and the amazing Nikola Tesla's role in their lives. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum, makes a great appearance as Tesla's assistant, and David Bowie is startlingly profound as Tesla.
The best performance in the film belongs to Michael Caine, the master engineer behind the illusions Jackman's character makes come alive. Caine is as understated here as he was in Batman Begins as Alfred, again directed by Nolan, opposite Christian Bale. I recommend this film heartily.