The Prestige

**** - For whatever reason, I didn’t read a single thing about this movie before viewing it. I didn’t read a review, not a summary, not a synopsis, not even a blurb, nothing. The only two things I based the selection of this for my Netflix queue were its critical acclaim and the fact that Netflix said I would like it based on my interest in “Memento” and “Donnie Darko”. So you can imagine how surprised I was when what I thought was going to be a taut political drama (a thought, by the way, based solely on how the DVD cover made it look – to me, anyway) turned out to be a strange tale of rival magicians in turn-of-the-century London. Despite the mild shock I received when this film wasn’t what I was expecting, I actually quite enjoyed the film, due at least in part to excellent acting, nice production design and intriguing story structure. I must admit that I felt as though I knew what was going to happen from fairly early on (and I turned out to be right) but director Christopher Nolan and the writers threw just enough curveballs to keep me second guessing myself and, therefore, retaining my interest.