The film of the year so far

[threemonkeys]

Another book film comparison. I went to see The Prestige today. In the early years, Christopher Priest knew how to write a straight forward novel. These days, there isn't much evidence of that. His books are layered and convoluted and The Prestige is no exception. By comparison, the film is very simple and open. That isn't saying a lot. There are still hidden elements and multiple levels of flashback. It works. Direct enough to follow but complex enough to be engrossing. It looked good too - really good. I'm not so sure about the performances - they weren't bad but I never lost the impression that I was looking at actors rather than the characters they were playing. Overall, well worth going to see. Just one thing - there are a number of hidden reveals in the story. Reading the book first will lessen the impact of the film and probably vice versa.

Comments

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it a lot.

I thought the movie was about to jump the shark when it revealed what Tesla's machine did, but no, no, there were still interesting surprises to go. I also liked the tension the two magicians created from the start - Angier's urbanity against Borden's roughness and dedicated skill.

I hadn't realised it was based on a book.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I'm sure all the book shops now have it on their shelves in the shiny new edition done just for the film release. Well, Dymocks does anyway.