'Prestige' earns its title

Are you looking closely?" asks the devious magician Alfred Borden of a stunned audience. "The Prestige" derives its title from the third act of a magic trick "where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you've never seen before." Thanks to Christopher Nolan's masterful direction, the film becomes a conjurer's trick itself and ultimately leaves the audience in awe.

The film takes place in London where two magicians, Hugh Jackman's charismatic but untalented Rupert Angier and Christian Bale's charmless but truly gifted Borden, battle for supremacy. When Borden accidentally kills Angier's wife on stage, a deep, obsessive rivalry begins. Caught in the middle of these two men's egos are Michael Cain's Cutter, a jaded magician's engineer, and Scarlett Johansson's Olivia, who serves as both men's onstage assistant. As the battle between the Angier and Borden escalates, both become so lost in deceit that even they are unable to discern the difference between illusion and reality.

Such a story is ideal for Nolan, who before the excellent "Batman Begins" was best known for the mind-bending "Memento." Here, he employs the same technique of nonlinear narrative, which works to astonishing effect. Nolan begins the movie with one magician dead and the other on trial for his murder. He then jumps into the past to reveal how the men got to this dire point. While some lesser directors would be lost in the complicated plot, Nolan moves through it like a master, offering the audience coy sleights-of-hand until we are astonished with the story's elegant simplicity by the end.

"The Prestige" demonstrates Nolan's eye for beauty, a quality his previous work hasn't showcased. Particularly eye-catching are the strange settings which give the film a dark, oddly surreal tone. Nolan peppers the film with bizarre environments, such as a white, marble-walled mortuary with a singular black coffin and dark forests lit by the glow of electricity in the dead of winter. These strange touches help "The Prestige" stand out from standard period fare.

What really makes the film, however, is the chemistry between Bale and Jackman. Both men hide their true emotions under a veneer of showmanship, making it difficult to read their true motivations. Jackman gradually moves from a grieving husband to someone obsessed with destroying his rival. Bale, meanwhile, gives his character an unsettling, cold confidence. During one scene, he is terrifying as he commands his wife to shoot him. In keeping with the film's theme that nothing is what it seems, Jackman and Bale make their characters both despicable and sympathetic at the same time.

Unfortunately, the performances of the supporting cast don't fare as well. The biggest treat is David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, the famed inventor who develops fantastical machines for the lead characters. Bowie gives the alienated inventor a profound amount of pathos. On the other end of the spectrum, Scarlet Johansson probably gives the film's most disappointing portrayal. Her depiction of Olivia as emotionally detached and aloof doesn't seem to fit the character. To make matters worse, Johansson's Olivia curiously lacks any of the sex appeal that she had in last year's "Match Point."

Aside from some performance quirks, there is much to love in "The Prestige," particularly Nolan's direction and phenomenal performances by Bale and Jackman. See this film if you are looking for something darker and more intelligent than what is currently offered in the multiplexes. A word of caution, however: do not blink when you watch this film, as this is one picture where it pays to watch closely. Pros: Brilliant performances from former superheroes Bale and Jackman; able direction by Nolan; Bowie shines. Cons: Johansson is bland; supporting cast is mixed.