The Prestige - Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan also directed The Prestige which was released in 2006 and is part of the psychological thriller genre. The film is about two magicians (Borden and Angier) who are friends-turned-enemies and are both desperate to perform the best magic trick – so desperate that they will do anything, sacrifice anything to reach their goal.

The final scene is extremely well put together and the air of mystery that is a big part of the entire film remains throughout this sequence, capturing the audience’s attention. The slowly building music, composed by David Julyan, coupled with the voiceover of Michael Caine’s character, Cutter, creates suspense, showing us that a crucial piece of information is about to be revealed. A similarity to Inception is revealed when Borden is reunited with his daughter and the happy tones of the music evoke a strong emotional response in the viewer.  We are fooled into believing that everything is going to be okay. However the underscoring quickly darkens again, reminding us that not everything is as it seems.

Sound combines with mise-en-scene, creating a compelling and atmospheric environment in the last moments of the sequence. As Corrigan and White say; “One of the most subtle and important dimensions of mise-en-scene is lighting” (79) and lighting is especially important in this sequence. For example backlighting is used, creating silhouettes and shadows which work well with the murky tones of the score, setting the audience of edge. This unsettling feeling we experience is an essential part of the psychological thriller genre.

The final line of this ending sequence is; ““Now you’re looking for the secret, but you won’t find it because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.” Spoken by Michael Caine’s character and combined with the spooky image of Angier, dead in a tank, I feel that this line sums up the essence of the psychological thriller. Even after watching the ending sequence of these films, we want to be left asking questions. We want to question the storyline and the director’s intentions. We don’t necessarily want everything to be tied up nicely.

The ending sequences of all four films discussed (Triangle, Shutter Island, Inception and The Prestige) all leave us wanting to know more and yet each gives us a sense of realization and wonderment. These are certainly films that you want to view more than once.