So back in 2006 there were these two rising stars named Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, and it pains me to admit that at first I could never remember which one was which. But god bless Christopher Nolan’s heart: this movie set me straight once and for all, pitting the two against each other in a story of duality and deceit. They’re meant to work in tandem, as a sort of visualized duality, whose stories parallel each other but for small but meaningful divergences and whose paths cannot help but continue to cross. Being a Christopher Nolan movie, this is naturally revealed through a series of winding roads and layers of detail that we don’t fully come to understand until the conclusion, and maybe not even until the second or third time watching.
The rivalry between the magicians depicted by Jackman and Bale drives the movie, a competition that is never all that friendly, but the contrast between the two characters, especially as more and more gets revealed about the two of them, is nicely and subtly handled by the actors. Both are quite likable, but it’s Jackman who garners more sympathy as the underdog, continually one step behind his opponent, and becoming more and more desperate to beat him at his own game. It speaks to the inherent qualities these two actors possess, specifically Jackman, who even though it’s clear that he can do virtually everything, is entirely convincing and compelling as the can’t-catch-a-break type. That is to say, it’s hard to imagine him playing up the sleaze the way Bale can.
Continue reading on the next page…
