By RACHEL BOLTON
Contributing Writer
Ratings-Sweet.
On this week’s edition of Lemon Movies, we will be talking about an example of an event called “Dueling Movies.” Dueling Movies is when two films with a similar plot come out around the same time. What usually happens is that this helps one film and hurts the other, because of the comparisons. Today, I will be discussing the battle for supremacy between the 2006 movies The Prestige and The Illusionist.
Both The Prestige and The Illusionist are set in the Victorian age and are about stage magicians. They also both score a lot of pop culture points because of who is in them. The casting of The Prestige is every Fan Boy and Girls dream. The two magicians in it are played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Enjoy it Ladies and Gentleman, this is the closest we will get to seeing Wolverine and The Batman duke it out. The magician from The Illusionist is played by Edward Norton of Fight Club notoriety, who is barely recognizable behind a goatee (I am Jack’s bad facial hair).
The plot of both movies can be boiled down to magicians and their desires. The Prestige deals with this theme more deeply than its counterpart. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) become rival magicians after an accident. Angier becomes determined to find the secret of Borden’s trick “The Transported Man” and out do him. This leads him down the slippery slope of obsession. However, Borden has dark secrets of his own. In The Illusionist Eisenhiem is a brilliant magician who sees his childhood friend again and the pair realize they still love one another. The only problem is that she is a Duchess who is engaged to a prince. The Illusionist is at heart a love story, but it does explore how far Eisenhiem is willing to go to make sure he and Sophie (Jessica Biel) can be together.
The films differ in how they present the magic. The Prestige shows that magic comes from the use of science. It features DAVID BOWIE as Nikola Tesla. The magic in The Illusionist is less defined and it is implied that Edward Norton’s Eisenhiem can do real magic. This works when it comes to the plots. The science in The Prestige helps reveal the dark underbelly of stage magic. While in The Illusionist the focus is the love story, and as things get more complicated, the line of what is a trick and what is real magic becomes increasingly blurred.
The endings are another reason why these movies are famous. I will not give away any details, but both movies have twist endings. It is worth it to watch them again, because the endings change the way you view the movies. You will notice plenty of hints and have “why didn’t I see that before” moments.
It’s hard to choose which movie is the better one. They are both fun to watch for their perspective plots. I say it comes down to what you want to see at the moment. If you want to watch a date movie that you can snuggle too, I would recommend The Illusionist. If you are in a mood to watch a mindbender that will make you think, watch The Prestige. I personally love both movies, but if I had to choose I would pick The Prestige. It is a good examination of obsession, and it is by Christopher Nolan. The twist is more shocking than The Illusionist.
In my opinion, this instance of “Dueling Movies” did not hurt the other one. Both were received well by critics and audiences. The Prestige and The Illusionist are fun movies to watch, so go rent them soon.
