The Prestige
Overview
The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest. The film stars Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier and Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, two rival stage magicians in Victorian-era London. The film is told in a non-linear structure, with multiple flashbacks and a framing device of Angier reading Borden's diary. The film opens with the death of Angier's wife Julia (Piper Perabo) during a water tank escape trick. Angier blames Borden for her death, and a bitter rivalry begins. The two magicians spend years sabotaging each other's careers, stealing each other's tricks, and trying to outdo each other. The film is structured around the three parts of a magic trick: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. The pledge is the setup, the turn is the moment the illusion happens, and the prestige is the reveal. The film follows Angier and Borden as they each attempt to create the greatest illusion: The Transported Man, a trick where a magician seems to disappear from one place and reappear in another. Borden creates a version using a double, his twin brother Fallon. Angier, desperate to discover Borden's secret, travels to Colorado to meet Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), the real-life inventor, who creates a machine for Angier that can duplicate matter. Angier uses the machine to create a version of The Transported Man where he is duplicated, and his duplicate is killed in a water tank each night. The film's twist is that Borden has been two people the whole time, and Angier has been killing himself every night. The film ends with Angier dying, and Borden being hanged for his murder, though his twin survives. The Prestige is a film about obsession, sacrifice, and the lengths people will go to for their art. It is also a film about the nature of storytelling, and the idea that audiences want to be fooled. The Prestige was a critical and commercial success, earning over $109 million worldwide. It was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. The film is widely considered one of Christopher Nolan's best and most underrated films, a masterpiece of misdirection and narrative complexity.
