Prestige v. Prestige

[jazzfish]

Having finished the book and rewatched the trailer, I can say with some degree of certainty that the Prestiges bear very little relation to one another. In the trailer I see casual nods to the book (the Chinaman and his goldfish bowl), and events twisted out of form (the breaking of the water tank), but the framing story appears to have vanished entirely. I suspect that this will turn out like From Hell, another book whose narrative form did not survive the translation to screen but nonetheless made an okay movie. (I can only hope that the need for a Happy Ending does not overwhelm the brothers Nolan as it did the brothers Hughes.)

Michael Caine's role as Mr Cutter appears to be a composite of the novel's Cutter and Elbourne. I find this highly amusing, in light of the novel's main themes.