The Prestige

The Prestige is Christopher Nolan's most structurally brilliant film — a tale of two rival magicians in Victorian London that is itself constructed as a magic trick, with a pledge, a turn, and a prestige that redefines everything you have seen. Hugh Jackman's Robert Angier is obsessed with topping Christian Bale's Alfred Borden, and their escalating rivalry leads both men into moral darkness and, eventually, into the domain of Nikola Tesla's impossible science.

The film works on multiple levels simultaneously. It is a period thriller, a meditation on obsession and sacrifice, and a science fiction story hiding inside a magic show. David Bowie's Tesla is a stroke of casting genius — who better to play the most enigmatic inventor in history than the most enigmatic rock star? The final revelation recontextualizes every scene in the film, rewarding repeat viewings more than almost any other Nolan work. 'Are you watching closely?' is not a question. It is a warning.