+17
The more I think about it, the more I think The Prestige is Nolan's best film.
It has all the twisty logic puzzle qualities we associate (either positively or negatively) with the man, but of the type where each twist has a major emotional component that isn't always present in his other films. The reveals hit twice as hard not just because of the "I can't believe I didn't notice that" quality, but because of the implications for the characters each of them carry. "Wow, I missed that! And ohhhh, wait, doesn't that mean he...?"
It is, in a sense, the Right Way to do that kind of twisty story. It's stayed with me more than his other films, and I find it rewards repeat viewings more than most of them, too. Even Memento feels kind of shallow in comparison: it's a "purer" film, but also one that you really only need to watch twice.
My wife read the book The Prestige is based on and she tells me it's not as good and kinda nothing like the movie. Nolan seems to have sort of borrowed the general themes of rivalry and obsession and gone off on his own with them, which I found surprising and interesting.
Anyway, there are a few films I'd show people to convince them that Nolan is more than capable of doing good character work with genuine emotional heft, and this would probably be the first.