Highly acclaimed director Christopher Nolan has produced some stellar movies in his time from “Inception” to “Interstellar” to the modern Batman trilogy, but his most underappreciated film, “The Prestige,” takes the top spot as my personal favorite. 

Released in 2006, Nolan’s adaptation of Christopher Priest’s novel follows two magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, and their obsession-fueled duel to outperform another and discover each other’s secrets in late 1800s England. Led by outstanding performances by Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson, “The Prestige” is a film that everyone needs to see.

Jackman plays the obsessed Angier perfectly and is able to create such raw emotion that it is hard not to emphasize with his character and everything he goes through to be on top. Bale plays the secretive Borden and his performance helps elevate the film to another level. The devotion that both actors are able to express with their characters is truly amazing. 

The film starts off showing the destruction of the relationship between Angier and Borden due to the death of Angier’s wife, which is where Angier’s anger and hatred towards Borden is created. Each quickly becomes obsessed with learning the other’s tricks and ruining their acts, and it is interesting to watch just how far they will go to sabotage each other. Nolan is able to develop these two characters without either of them seeming like the good or bad guy, leaving it up to the audience to choose who they identify with. 

“The Prestige” in itself is a magic trick as Nolan tries to deceive the audience by taking an ordinary concept, two magicians competing with one another, and making it into something extraordinary. It has so many complex layers that by choosing the ideal moment to reveal the twists to the audience, you might not even realize that the film is trying to trick you. It truly is one of those films that you will need to lower your phones for in order to grasp everything it has to offer and become immersed in the world Nolan has created. 

There is one big secret hidden within the film that if figured out, would easily reveal the trick that Nolan is trying to divert you from. When I first watched “The Prestige,” I was never able to piece together the puzzle and figure out that trick, but looking back on it, it seems so obvious. By me telling you the secret seems obvious, you will most likely be looking for it as you watch, but as Michael Caine’s character Cutter says, “you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled.”