Retrospective: The Prestige (Patreon)

Christopher Nolan's protagonists are frequently egomaniacs in a race against the clock to become the best in their field. Rarely do his characters find themselves in such a bloody battle as they do in The Prestige, in which two stage magicians competing to craft the perfect illusion leave a trail of human and animal bodies, life-altering injuries, and the debris of countless lives. A filmmaker can relate, particularly one who would later blow up a former candy factory in Chicago and shoot a film on occupied land.

While many of Nolan's characters achieve a sort of mixed success, it's hard to see how anybody in The Prestige comes out on top. "Obsession is a young man's game," says Michael Caine, as he obsessively enables Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman with their obsessions. The mind games, illusions, and structural tricks Nolan revels in lead but to the grave in The Prestige. It's a rare tragedy from Nolan that feels like a confession. It's also perhaps the single most fun movie he's ever made, with some absolutely magnificent payoff to his structural games. Watching my girlfriend's delight at the revelations at the end of the film was as enjoyable as the whole of The Prestige. One of the finest films of its decade, and as good as anything Nolan has ever made.