Free Post 2: Abracadabra

This is my second free post while on spring break. I've had a lot of free time on my hands lately and my mom and I rented this movie because it looked mildly interesting. Little did I know, this movie changed the way I look at the meaning of a general interest and an obsession.

Mystery, love, and, of course, magic. These were all factors of The Prestige that made it such a magnificent movie. However, its main theme really caught my eye, as this is what made this movie especially unique.

The movie begins with some very simple words that provide the audience with the meaning of a prestige. "Every great magic trick consists of three acts. The first act is called "The Pledge"; The magician shows you something ordinary, but of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn"; The magician makes his ordinary some thing do something extraordinary. Now if you're looking for the secret... you won't find it, that's why there's a third act called, "The Prestige"; this is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you've never seen before." narrates Cutter, the old magic trick inventor. This statement captured me at once and for me, the magic definitely began here, at the beginning of the movie, well it actually begins at the end. A murder occurs, the murder of Robert Angier, a brilliant, young magician played by Hugh Jackman. The suspect is another great magician, Alfred Borden played by Christian Bale. Both are equally obsessed with magic, how it's managed by one so as to fool the audience with illusion. The audience takes a blast to the past as the present moments trigger a memory. Though these memories, the audience sees obsession turning to madness in these brilliant mens' eyes, as the magic fades with an unexpected twist.

This movie is not for the naive or the sensible. It goes beyond what is seen and into what is felt. I never thought a movie could lead to wondering and analytical processes. Some helpful advice to any readers of this piece: if you watch this movie, open all senses and close your mind to tangible beings as you fill yourself with the illusion presented. As Borden says in one of his closing remarks, "Abracadabra."

"Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it because you're not really looking. You don't really want to know the secret... You want to be fooled."