THE PRESTIGE (2006)

M

mind_philip

saw the light
version said:
I'll watch it tonight. Have you read the book?
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I read the novel about 15 years ago. Can't remember the exact details now, but the plot is significantly different, framed around the grandchildren of Angier and Borden meeting in the present day and investigating their family feud. To be honest, the film narrative is a lot leaner (if you can believe it) and much better for it.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
When this film came out it didn't appeal to me at all (and wasn't there another similar sounding film about magiclans that came out around the same time further muddying the waters?), but over the years since its reputation seems to have grown and grown. I read about it on some list of major headfuck films (strangely enough?) - and then the other day I saw this thread and had an empty afternoon and so I decided to take the plunge....

And, well it was OK. I enjoyed a lot about including the plausible mundanity of the majority of the tricks - what's that film, also with Michael Caine, and Jesse Eisenberg with a group of ultrasmug Robin Hood-hearted masterthief magicians doing utterly ridiculous stuff? It's hateful. But anyway yeah The Prestige avoided that... and I have to admit it kinda got in my head and I thought about it a lot afterwards... but I had a few gripes, mainly for a film about magic etc it seemed kinda too predictable. There just weren't many "ooooooh ahhh" type moments, most of the 'twists' were of the kind where you knew basically what was gonna happen even if you weren't sure exactly how.

Whatever, it had something, Bale looks increasingly like an (even?) uglier Tom Cruise, Caine was surprisingly solid and there was a certain pleasing moral ambiguity in that the goodish guy wasn't that good and the baddy wasn't THAT bad, plus it was nice to see The Dame even if his Tesla seemed at times to have a weird hint of Scottish to hhis accent.

Speaking of Bale's plainness, is it really plausible that Sir Peter Hall's daughter and Scarlett Johanson would fall for him so completely?

Couple of other thing - or I agree that Nolan can't quite pull it off - SPOILER OK I can believe that Lord Caldwell could pretend to be someone else in many circumstances, but how is it that he's married and his wife doesn't even know? And there were things like the duplicating machine, as far as I could see the original hat stayed in the same place and a new one was created elsewhere- hence there being so many - but when he uses it on stage it's the original guy whi is transported and the new one who remains inn the machine to fall through the trapdoor to his death.... sleight of hand or just a cock-up we weren't supposed to spot?
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
sus said:
Oh and I hear there are class dynamics what with Bale's cockney and Jackman's posh, but I dunno know nuffin abou' that.
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SPOILER

Is that true though? Jackman speaks with an American accent throughout though you could make a case for his true nastiness being revealed simultaneously with the fact of his title etc

Also, is Bale's accent actual Cockney? Sounds like generic working class London rather than specifically East End - although I'm not totally sure on definitions here so could be wrong - it's not the word I would have gone for. I mean, can we be certain he was born within the sound of Bow Bells?
 
sus

sus

Moderator
IdleRich said:
SPOILER

Is that true though? Jackman speaks with an American accent throughout though you could make a case for his true nastiness being revealed simultaneously with the fact of his title etc

Also, is Bale's accent actual Cockney? Sounds like generic working class London rather than specifically East End - although I'm not totally sure on definitions here so could be wrong - it's not the word I would have gone for. I mean, can we be certain he was born within the sound of Bow Bells?
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Idk I don't know accents so I appreciate you saving me from passing around bad intel
 
Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Let's cast classic adaptations if they were a Christopher Nolan film

E.g. Ulysses

Stephen Dedalus: Christian Bale
Leopold Bloom: CGI de aged Michael Caine
Molly Bloom: Maggie Gyllenhal
The Citizen: Dave Batista

Etc
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
sus said:
Idk I don't know accents so I appreciate you saving me from passing around bad intel
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Well don't take me as gospel but to me a working class London accent is not exactly the same as cockney, but probably some here know a lot more than me.

Historically cockney meant an East Londoner who was born somewhere close enough to the church in question to be able to hear Bow Bells - but I think Bow Bells are in a church on like Fenchurch Street (they were made in Bow, not rang there) or something and now that would be considered fairly central as London has obviously grown since that definition. So basically someone who was born in East London would be pretty far from there and so the definition doesn't really hold up any longer.

In short I'd say that the cockney base has been pushed further and further East until it's virtually Essex. But again I will bow to superior knowledge (no pun intended there cos Bow as in Bow Bells rhymes with go).

Edit; the church in question is on Cheapside apparently not Fenchurch St, that's the same street as the bank of England so as you can probably guess it's hardly the depths of East London.
 
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sus

sus

Moderator
I don’t think most people realize that Angier is also living a lie, just not for a trick. When you learn that he’s actually Lord Caldlow (or however it’s spelled) it’s clear that he’s been faking his American accent the whole time. Even in the beginning when he tells his wife about “not wanting to embarrass his family with his theatrical endeavors” you can kinda assume he’s from some rich well-off American family. Turns out he’s an English Lord.
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sus

sus

Moderator

It's not a Welsh accent. He was born in Wales, but his parents are English, and he brought up in England. What we hear is a sort of a Cockney accent (thr East End London accent), which is weird because Bale grew up in Bournemouth, and the accent in Bournemouth is not Cockney, but West Country. He has the same accent issue as Jason Statham, who is not an actual Londoner, but for some reason dons a Cockney accent.
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