You don’t have to be an avid fan of magic to be spellbound by The Prestige. The movie, directed by Christopher Nolan, has so many layers, proving to be much more than a couple of cheap tricks and stage smoke. Following the fierce competition between two London magicians, Robert Angier, played by Hugh Jackman, and Alfred Borden, played by Christian Bale, this epic cinematic masterpiece most likely left you with a spinning head and more questions than you know what to do with. Like many of Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending films, The Prestige’s ending wasn’t for the weak. Let’s dive in.
Story and Background
For those who haven’t seen it or need a refresher, The Prestige is about two rival magicians, Borden and Angier, who start working together. However, their partnership is tested when Angier’s wife Julia dies during a magic trick in a tank of water. Angier blames his partner Borden for her drowning, believing that he failed to tie a knot she could get out of. This inciting incident causes fierce rivalry, which becomes the central underlying theme of the whole movie.
The Rivalry and Magic
As the movie progresses, each magician attempts to outdo the other, seeking out increasingly risky magic tricks. Borden comes up with the Transported Man trick, in which he seemingly teleports between two locations. This causes Angier to become obsessed with figuring out how Borden pulls this off.
Who is Cutter?
Another central character in the story is Cutter, played by Michael Caine. He is an experienced stage engineer who designs apparatuses for the magicians. He is also Angier’s mentor and the voice of reason and practicality in an otherwise volatile and increasingly unpredictable situation between the two magicians.
Angier’s Obsession with Tesla’s Machine
One object of interest is Tesla’s Machine, a fictional machine created by inventor Nikola Tesla (David Bowie) that becomes Angier’s obsession. The machine is a focal point of the movie, as Tesla had a similar rivalry with Thomas Edison, whom he claimed was trying to steal his ideas.
In the movie, the Tesla machine is known for allegedly being able to clone objects, including humans. Angier connects with Tesla in an attempt to use the machine for his Transported Man illusion. He intends to use himself as the subject. While the machine is a fascinating invention and will make you question our inventive abilities as humans, unfortunately, it’s nothing more than a fictional byline for the plot – Tesla didn’t make anything like this in real life.
The Women in The Prestige
The Prestige wouldn’t be half the movie it is without the incredible roles of the supporting characters played by Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall. Scarlett plays Olivia Wenscombe, who we know as Aniger’s assistant. She plays an increasingly pivotal role in the rivalry between Angier and Borden. Angier uses Olivia to spy on Borden as he attempts to uncover the secret behind the Transporting Man trick. Naturally, Olivia becomes more involved than she was supposed to and begins a relationship with Borden, further complicating the dynamic.
Rebecca Hall plays Sarah Borden, Alfred’s wife. She struggles in her marriage as she watches her husband from the sidelines become more obsessed with Angier and his desire to outdo him.
The Revelation
At the end of the movie, we’re shocked to find out that Borden had a twin brother the entire time, called Fallon. They had been pretending to be one person to pull off the Transported Man trick successfully, while Angier had made clones of himself and subsequently sacrificed them.
The Ultimate Twist
The final twist occurs when Borden, who stands accused of murdering one of the Angier clones, finds the real Angier and shoots him. Angier admits that he has an obsession with the trick, and he’s been using Tesla’s machine to pull it off. Borden reunites with his daughter, Jess, and Angier dies.
The critical thing to note here is that it’s Fallon, Borden’s twin, who is wrongly accused of murdering the Angier duplicates because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fallon had been sneaking beneath the theater stage, trying to figure out how Angier achieved the illusion. The story ends in tragedy for Fallon, who is hung in jail for Angier’s murder. Borden ends up not only alive and well but free.
So, what do we learn from The Prestige? In the end, Cutter, Angier’s mentor and the film’s narrator tells us there’s no such thing as a free lunch – if you want something great, you must sacrifice something great. There’s also a huge price to pay for secrets in magic, and this cautionary tale of a deadly rivalry between two magicians proved just that. If you still find yourself shaking your head in amazement at this masterpiece of film, you wouldn’t be the only one. The Prestige has an impressive 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes and won several Academy Awards.
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Fontaine is one of the movie-loving brains behind thefilmbandit.com. She’s got a soft spot for classic rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally and Pretty in Pink, but don’t let that fool you—she’s just as hyped for the intense action in the Bourne movies. Her all-time fave? The Goonies, no contest. If it’s got 80s vibes, a killer storyline, or dreamy cinematography, Fontaine’s already got it queued up. She’s here for the feels, the thrills, and everything in between.