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I loving loved The Prestige. I was a bit late to the Nolan Hype Train, having only seen Memento on DVD, but when The Prestige came out I could not have been more excited bar some kind of "Hal Hartley hired to helm Highlander reboot" miracle. My then-fiance and several friends saw it opening night. Loved it. Everything about it. Mind blown! I was infuriated and awed that I had been fooled by the twin reveal despite the absolute mountain of clues the film gives you. I did not even suspect. This is the reason the film is great, and the hardest thing to do is figure out how the Nolans did it. I haven't watched it in a while, though, so last night I did so. I still loved Bale's performance - strike that, the performance of everyone, aside from the excruciating monologue from Jackman after he gets shot. I recall that being the only thing I didn't like the first time I saw it, as well. But, well, I guess I should just get to the point. It's Tesla. It's the science stuff. It ruins it. It just... it actually kind of ruins the film for me. Mind you, the script does its best with the premise of Tesla and his machine - the scene where the theater owner says they have to dress it up, you can't show real magic, it's great. And it's the problem the film has! We are never given any doubt - in fact we're given explicit onscreen proof - that the machine does what it does. The movie is breaking the rule it's setting for itself. In another story, The Machine would be fantastic - the existential crisis of wondering if Angier is "the man in the box" or "the man in the Prestige" is a fascinating one. Is the "clone" the one where the "consciousness" of Angier is? Or is it in both? Or neither? Or does that question even make sense anymore? When Angier comes out for the Prestige, does he think he's "the same one" that walked into the box, every time? But he would never know for sure, would he? But the problem is the film isn't about, and shouldn't be about, Tesla's Machine at all. It's Borden's story, and the story of a competition. The Machine casts such a long shadow over the film, especially on review, that even when the thematics do match up - Angier finally "getting his hands dirty" - one can't help but think the story could have gotten there in a different, better, more perfect way.
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Apr 24, 2017 02:54
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| # ¿ May 19, 2024 17:10 |
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Ammanas posted:Doesn't the film make a point of saying having identical copies of yourself is intolerable to either copy? The twin thing works because they're not the same person. Right, Angier specifically says "I wouldn't want to live like that" and the first thing we see as proof that it worked is one cat going to fight its copy. What makes it even worse is that if he were ever found out he could just say he's had a twin all his life and his family was ashamed of one of them (so one is "Angier" and one is "Cordlow") since we can easily deduce that most or all of his family is dead. Spatulater bro! posted:If I'm understanding correctly, your complaint is that the machine is actually magic, right? No, it's that the machine is unnecessary for the story and on rewatch I realized it dominated far too much screentime and that it somewhat overshadows the more fascinating story of Freddie. precision fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Apr 24, 2017 |
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Apr 24, 2017 20:45
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Right before Angier shoots himself, the "clone" says "Wait, stop, I'm-" and we can presume he was about to say "I'm the real one" or something similar. But having that scene only makes it absolutely clear that Angier knows he's going to drown every time, because he remember the first time he did it and how "he" didn't teleport. He should remember whether or not the "him" that steps into the machine will fall through the trapdoor or not because the machine always works the same way.
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Apr 27, 2017 18:11
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raditts posted:How would the clone know he's not the real one? I only meant that the Angier who shot himself believes that he's the "prime". Though, if the copy is the same - why didn't they both go for the gun?
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Apr 28, 2017 07:02
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WeAreTheRomans posted:No they're definitely just regular twins, and people are being idiots ITT Yeah. Was it not subtle enough that Borden's journal literally says "Tesla is just the key to this journal you doofus"
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Apr 28, 2017 19:01
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Right, each one is half of Alfred Borden. It might undercut the themes if "Fallon" had a whole life of his own but that's clearly not the case, he couldn't even talk to people as Fallon. Any time one of the twins wasn't "Alfred" they were basically in limbo.
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Apr 28, 2017 21:01
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Basebf555 posted:Dead Ringers has a similar theme going on with two twins who really aren't fully developed people on their own. They only succeed in life when they combine themselves into one fictional person. That movie is also fantastic and everyone should watch it.
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Apr 28, 2017 22:10
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Grendels Dad posted:I think I outed myself as a dumbass through The Prestige. Google "prestige theories" if you want to feel better about yourself.
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Apr 30, 2017 19:46
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Hollismason posted:It always blew my mind that Hugh Jackman played Gerald Root his "twin" for the disappearing man trick. Before they cleaned him up I did in fact think "Wow, that guy does look a lot like Hugh Jackman" 
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Apr 30, 2017 23:59
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| # ¿ May 19, 2024 17:10 |
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I just rewatched the beginning again and the first lines of Borden's journal are "We were two young men at the start of a career, two young men who never intended to hurt anyone". 
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May 1, 2017 07:30
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