I Believe in Magic
-or-
It's not a trick, it's an illusion.
Can I just keep titling this post, instead of doing the hard work of writing it? Pleeease?
Okay, then. I guess I'd better get to it. In the spirit of healthy competition, may I propose this compare-and-contrast analysis of 2006's magic movies, The Prestige and The Illusionist.
TITLE
I think The Illusionist wins this one. If you've seen The Prestige, the title's great -- unique, meaningful, and elegant -- but if you haven't, you might have a hard time finding this one in the video store. And the clerk may very well direct you to The Illusionist.
PROTAGONIST
In The Prestige, we've got dual protagonists-- maybe leaning a little towards Hugh Jackman and away from Christian Bale, but nevertheless: we follow these two men in their quests to be the greatest illusionist of their time. Both men are brilliant and both are complex (especially that Christian Bale!). The movie also does something fairly clever-- we never know everything about either of these men. As viewers, we don't need to know everything. The film creates confidence in us that explanations (How is Bale doing the door trick? How does Jackman appear to disappear?) will all be forthcoming. But still, from moment to moment, we're grounded in one or both of these men-- we know what they want, why, and what's at stake. And I, for one, genuinely cared.
The Illusionist does something a bit funny. The illusionist of the title isn't, in fact, the hero of the story. You can tell by the way we have no idea what he's thinking or doing at any given time, and by the fact that we don't go home with him. Instead, the protagonist of this tale is the police inspector played by Paul Giamatti. He's the one we're "with" in that we know about as much as he does. He's our connection to the mystery of how Jessica Biel was killed, and how Ed Norton is conjuring her spirit in front of packed houses.
Now, I don't have a problem with the unlikely hero as a concept. But in this case, it feels almost accidental. We don't, in fact, have a strong connection to this character at all. But he's what we're left with, because the other characters are either a) evil, or b) not what they seem-- if we went home with them, there'd be no puzzle -- no magic -- at all. Hero by default... kind of weak.
THE RIVALRY
The rivalry in The Prestige begins with a (possibly) accidental death on stage and builds, piece by grudging piece. It's quite deftly done, actually: our allegiance flits from man to man, as the stakes get higher and the illusions more mysterious and dangerous.
The rivarly in The Illusionist: Ed Norton is a poor but kind performer in love with Jessica Biel. Rufus Sewell is the scheming crown prince engaged to Jessica Biel. Problem: only one Jessica Biel. And then with her murder, apparently committed by Rufus when she was choosing Ed... no Jessica Biels!
One is crafted. The other is: "You know every love story, different worlds, wrong side of the tracks, Romeo and Whatsername... it's like that."
THE GIRL
Here's where I confess a modest but growing soft spot for Ms. Biel. When the movies were coming out, I thought the casting of the female in the love triangle said it all-- there's the Scarlet Johansson movie (probably classy and committed to the period) and then there's the Jessica Biel one, which probably had Scarlet at the top of their list, too, but couldn't get her, so they moved on down to a more attainable actress who'd most recently co-starred with a fighter plane. But I have to say-- Jessica was sweet and pretty and held her own with the fairly strong Ed Norton presence. Scarlet? I barely remember her. She faded into the background behind the two compelling leading men.
This has clearly devolved from "story lesson" into "casting things that make you go hmm", but oh well.
"MAGIC"
Ooh. A biggie. Sorry, Jessica, you can't save this category.
The magic in The Prestige is exciting. We learn how tricks are done-- and how they can be undone. We see our illusionists go to extreme lengths for their latest illusions, including breaking the rules of nature. And the couple of big mysteries -- the how was he doing thats -- are revealed in the big, climactic, fairly surprising finale... because they have to be, right? Who'd want to see a movie about illusionists without getting down and dirty in the illusions?
In The Illusionist, we simply don't get to see the man behind the curtain. He's not our hero, remember? Other than the explanation of Jessica Biel's manipulated murder (which, by the way, is about as simple and artless as it could possibly be), we don't get much in the way of revelations... many a CG-laden "illusion" goes unexplained, or at least unsatisfactorily. Hey, Ed, how did you make "apparitions" appear on the stage?
TONE
I loved The Prestige's dark-yet-sweeping feel. The nonlinear aspects helped-- I was always on my toes, trying to follow the various threads, much like a mark tries to follow which cup the ball is under.
In contrast, The Illusionist felt golden and shiny-- maybe a more pleasant world to be in, but also a much more Hollywoodified one.
THEMES
The Prestige: complete commitment to one's art. The laws of the natural world. Duality. Transformation. The devastation wrought by rage and grudges. Brotherhood. Friendship.
The Illusionist: um... love? True love?
IN CONCLUSION
The Prestige is the better movie. It takes more chances, it's atmospheric, it's original, and it feels like a journey. But I do not knock for one second those of you who are sometimes just looking for something to watch while Mum's over. (She says, having just finished a new draft of a very golden & shiny rom-com.)
It's not a trick, it's an illusion.
Can I just keep titling this post, instead of doing the hard work of writing it? Pleeease?
Okay, then. I guess I'd better get to it. In the spirit of healthy competition, may I propose this compare-and-contrast analysis of 2006's magic movies, The Prestige and The Illusionist.
TITLE
I think The Illusionist wins this one. If you've seen The Prestige, the title's great -- unique, meaningful, and elegant -- but if you haven't, you might have a hard time finding this one in the video store. And the clerk may very well direct you to The Illusionist.
PROTAGONIST
In The Prestige, we've got dual protagonists-- maybe leaning a little towards Hugh Jackman and away from Christian Bale, but nevertheless: we follow these two men in their quests to be the greatest illusionist of their time. Both men are brilliant and both are complex (especially that Christian Bale!). The movie also does something fairly clever-- we never know everything about either of these men. As viewers, we don't need to know everything. The film creates confidence in us that explanations (How is Bale doing the door trick? How does Jackman appear to disappear?) will all be forthcoming. But still, from moment to moment, we're grounded in one or both of these men-- we know what they want, why, and what's at stake. And I, for one, genuinely cared.
The Illusionist does something a bit funny. The illusionist of the title isn't, in fact, the hero of the story. You can tell by the way we have no idea what he's thinking or doing at any given time, and by the fact that we don't go home with him. Instead, the protagonist of this tale is the police inspector played by Paul Giamatti. He's the one we're "with" in that we know about as much as he does. He's our connection to the mystery of how Jessica Biel was killed, and how Ed Norton is conjuring her spirit in front of packed houses.
Now, I don't have a problem with the unlikely hero as a concept. But in this case, it feels almost accidental. We don't, in fact, have a strong connection to this character at all. But he's what we're left with, because the other characters are either a) evil, or b) not what they seem-- if we went home with them, there'd be no puzzle -- no magic -- at all. Hero by default... kind of weak.
THE RIVALRY
The rivalry in The Prestige begins with a (possibly) accidental death on stage and builds, piece by grudging piece. It's quite deftly done, actually: our allegiance flits from man to man, as the stakes get higher and the illusions more mysterious and dangerous.
The rivarly in The Illusionist: Ed Norton is a poor but kind performer in love with Jessica Biel. Rufus Sewell is the scheming crown prince engaged to Jessica Biel. Problem: only one Jessica Biel. And then with her murder, apparently committed by Rufus when she was choosing Ed... no Jessica Biels!
One is crafted. The other is: "You know every love story, different worlds, wrong side of the tracks, Romeo and Whatsername... it's like that."
THE GIRL
Here's where I confess a modest but growing soft spot for Ms. Biel. When the movies were coming out, I thought the casting of the female in the love triangle said it all-- there's the Scarlet Johansson movie (probably classy and committed to the period) and then there's the Jessica Biel one, which probably had Scarlet at the top of their list, too, but couldn't get her, so they moved on down to a more attainable actress who'd most recently co-starred with a fighter plane. But I have to say-- Jessica was sweet and pretty and held her own with the fairly strong Ed Norton presence. Scarlet? I barely remember her. She faded into the background behind the two compelling leading men.
This has clearly devolved from "story lesson" into "casting things that make you go hmm", but oh well.
"MAGIC"
Ooh. A biggie. Sorry, Jessica, you can't save this category.
The magic in The Prestige is exciting. We learn how tricks are done-- and how they can be undone. We see our illusionists go to extreme lengths for their latest illusions, including breaking the rules of nature. And the couple of big mysteries -- the how was he doing thats -- are revealed in the big, climactic, fairly surprising finale... because they have to be, right? Who'd want to see a movie about illusionists without getting down and dirty in the illusions?
In The Illusionist, we simply don't get to see the man behind the curtain. He's not our hero, remember? Other than the explanation of Jessica Biel's manipulated murder (which, by the way, is about as simple and artless as it could possibly be), we don't get much in the way of revelations... many a CG-laden "illusion" goes unexplained, or at least unsatisfactorily. Hey, Ed, how did you make "apparitions" appear on the stage?
TONE
I loved The Prestige's dark-yet-sweeping feel. The nonlinear aspects helped-- I was always on my toes, trying to follow the various threads, much like a mark tries to follow which cup the ball is under.
In contrast, The Illusionist felt golden and shiny-- maybe a more pleasant world to be in, but also a much more Hollywoodified one.
THEMES
The Prestige: complete commitment to one's art. The laws of the natural world. Duality. Transformation. The devastation wrought by rage and grudges. Brotherhood. Friendship.
The Illusionist: um... love? True love?
IN CONCLUSION
The Prestige is the better movie. It takes more chances, it's atmospheric, it's original, and it feels like a journey. But I do not knock for one second those of you who are sometimes just looking for something to watch while Mum's over. (She says, having just finished a new draft of a very golden & shiny rom-com.)
Labels: comparison
posted by Jennica at 6:56 p.m.
3 Comments:
hey, thanks for this post! we watched both movies within a couple of months & I couldn't help but wonder, 'What does Jennica think?' (or WDJT? similar to 'what would jesus do' in terms of thinking about films!) You've given it a much more thoughtful analysis than mine, which was: Illusionist: kinda boring. The Prestige: so good I watched it twice, back to back!
(The Prestige did hammer the last nail in the coffin for any love for ScarJo - so one-note, so over-cast! I love the brief appearance of that lovely actress named Piper, though.)
Nice post Jennica; I haven't seen the Illusionist (and have no desire to now), but I agree with your views on the Prestige. It's really well-crafted and [warning: nerd alert] so enjoyable I even forgave David Bowie's turn as Nikola Tesla and the many factual errors that appeared during that part of the narrative. [Nerd out]
But it's so true the title is really, really lame. Which is so unfortunate as it must have had a negative impact on the audience draw. My problem with it is largely owing to the fact that the word is so inherently uncool. [Nerd engage] Prestige as a noun is nearly extinct in English so it (incorrectly) forewarns the audience of something inaccessible, arcane, or numblingly detached from our contemporary lives (and period pieces are always about right now!). Also, we will invariably think of it's more common modern derivative as the adjective "prestigious", which just plain sounds a little snooty. [Nerd out] So for me it evokes an image of matronly instructor at baroque dance acadamy in eastern Europe, dressed up for convocation and attempting to look modern in her twenties flapper dress and wide satin waistband. Yuck.
I mean even if it really was the name for the third part of the magic trick it fails to really land because it doesn't have alternate meanings or current usages to create a deeper resonance, nor is it unique enough to speak to the original (and slighly fantastical) world that you'll be entering.
Compare with an imaginary poker movie called "The River" (the last card dealt in Texas Hold 'Em) or alternately consider Lucas' THX1138, [Nerd set to max] which intrigues because it has no other point of reference for us but the eponymous character we meet. The first example could end up having numerous layered meanings in the narrative, the second is just enjoyably esoteric. But "The Prestige" - arghh.
But behind that is a really engaging story; and I agree the reveals are so satisfying it doesn't even matter if you (or your viewing partner) called them at the top of the second act. (Curse you Marita and your prescient buttered popcorn powered visions!)
Laish-- I love the WDJT idea! Wow. And you're welcome-- this post is dedicated to you, m'dear. Apparently I do take requests.
Monikerr, this gets a nomination for best comment EVER. Please go to warp nerd speed more often. Oh, and it would be great if you could start a blog of your own as well. Would you mind?
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