The Prestige



""Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call the prestige.""

- Cutter

The Prestige is a 2006 film, directed by Christopher Nolan. It was based on a book of the same name.

The story follows an escalating rivalry between two magicians, Alfred Borden and Robert Angier. They started their careers as partners until Angier's wife died during a performance, possibly because Borden may have tied a stronger rope knot than necessary (with the wife's permission). The rivalry extends into the magician scene as the two compete to see who is the best at their craft.

Told through the framing devices of the two men reading one another's journals, the plot is not shown in chronological order.

Interestingly, the film cannot really be said to have a protagonist. Both sides are portrayed neutrally without either getting a sympathetic point of view. This gives a different slant on a story instead of just the normal protagonist vs. antagonist story. Instead we get a story about two overly obsessed flawed men.

Also, this film has Nikola Tesla played by David Bowie.

'''This film is built almost entirely out of unexpected twists. You will learn them if you read any further.'''


 * Adult Fear: A particularly painful one forms The Reveal towards the end of the film.
 * A Real Man Is a Killer: Angier is told that he needs to be willing to "get his hands dirty" if he wants to be a truly great magician, which in context meant being willing to kill doves to maintain an illusion. Borden actually does just that in an earlier trick.
 * Acting for Two:
 * Anachronic Order: A Nolan trademark.
 * All-Star Cast: It's easier to list who isn't a star.
 * Alternative Foreign Theme Song: "Returner" by Gackt was used as the theme song in the Japanese version.
 * : Part of the twist.
 * Aristocrats Are Evil: . It's hard to decide if the character was always this way or slowly grew into it as the years passed.
 * Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: Nikolai Tesla invented a.
 * Beta Couple: In a very unusual version of this trope, Tesla/Edison for Borden/Angier. Both couples are in the same lines of work, both are fiercely competitive and at the very tops of their fields.
 * And if you think about it, as a straighter but still slightly off-kilter version of the trope.
 * Black and Gray Morality: Have fun trying to decide who's gray.
 * Bullet Catch: Definitely not played straight.
 * Byronic Hero + Villain Protagonist: The magicians.
 * Chekhov's Gun: "I mean, someone could
 * Clarke's Third Law / Magic From Technology:
 * Classically-Trained Extra: Angier's double.
 * Creepy Monotone: Tesla played by David Bowie.
 * Cycle of Revenge: A vicious one, at that.
 * Darker and Edgier: Both Angier and Borden were considerably more sympathetic in the book.
 * Determinator: Angier and Borden.
 * Doing It for the Art: In-universe example. While Angier is after the Transported Man trick simply because it'll make a great show, Borden wants to try and push the limits of the art of magic. Arguably, the whole movie could be seen as a debate on the nature of art in general.
 * Driven to Suicide: Borden's
 * Dueling Movies: One of two period pieces that focus on magicians to come out in 2006 (along with The Illusionist, which is actually quite different).
 * Dueling Stars Movie: Unlike some films which use this trope, the chemistry between them is excellent.
 * Mr. Fanservice: Oustanding performances aside, it doesn't hurt that the two leads are played by the not entirely unattractive Jackman and Bale, with Bowie on hand too.
 * Evil Will Fail: The more absorbed the dueling magicians become in their vengeance-fueled-rivalry, the more their lives fall apart, until finally
 * Face Heel Double Turn: Angier starts out with the audience's sympathy after his wife dies and Borden just seems to be a Jerkass. But as the film goes on we start to see Borden become more sympathetic as Angier slips even further into revenge.
 * Fake Brit: Scarlett Johansson got some criticism for her accent. Interestingly, her character is an American in the novel, which means it might have been deliberate for her to talk like an American imitating an English accent.
 * Also, Daniel Davis of The Nanny, using the exact same accent as he did in said show.
 * And Piper Perabo.
 * Fake American: Aussie Hugh Jackman as the American Angier.
 * Londoner Andy Serkis plays Alley with a Big Applesauce accent.
 * Fingore: The malfunctioning magic trick that crushes a poor volunteer's hand, then Borden losing two fingers,.
 * Foe Yay: Borden and Angier pretty much personify this trope. Lampshaded in the book when
 * In the movie, the words are
 * Foreshadowing: Both major twists at the end of the film are foreshadowed pretty subtly.
 * Go Seduce My Arch-Nemesis: Angier to Olivia. One of the first obvious signs that the two are willing to go to extreme lengths to try and defeat each other.
 * Historical Villain Upgrade: Edison is hinted to be a ruthless, violent man who crushes his foes by sending Faceless Goons to their labs to destroy everything and run them out of town. Even way up in the mountains, Tesla couldn't escape his wrath.
 * I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Piper Perabo's character, Julia, who drowns during a stage performance, setting Angier against Borden.
 * Insufferable Genius: Borden's a fantastic magician, he's just a terrible performer.
 * In the novel it's the other way around, with Borden pointing out several times that Angier just didn't understand showmanship. Angier also trolled magician trade publications early in his career.
 * Irony As She Is Cast: Ricky Jay, the film's magic consultant, has a role as an incompetent stage magician.
 * Also, David Bowie as the famously celibate Tesla.
 * It Got Worse: And then some.
 * Jerkass: Borden, and Angier's double.
 * Kayfabe: Adherence to this is the reason for most of Borden's troubles.
 * Lightning Can Do Anything: In this case, it can even
 * Lovely Assistant: Olivia is this to both of the stage magicians involved (and has affairs with both of them). Angier's wife was also this.
 * Mad Artist: Angier shows more traits than his rival. In the end he explains that the magic shows's main point (and all that it implied) was to puzzle the audience and be considered the best magician ever. Judging from his popularity it was a complete success, but the price he paid was very high.
 * Magical Realism
 * Magicians Are Wizards: Subverted: the movie explains every trick, and at one point Michael Cane snaps "You're a magician, not a bloody wizard! If you want to do magic, you've got to get your hands dirty."
 * Misapplied Phlebotinum: Apparently neither Tesla nor Angier stopped to consider that.
 * Perhaps, though.
 * Nested Story: Borden reading Angier's journal, about Angier deciphering Borden's journal.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the book,
 * Obfuscating Disability: Chung Ling Soo, the ancient Chinese performer with stiff legs.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: Arguably, Borden's disguises: they start out seeming very transparent and obvious until we find out that
 * Once More, With Clarity: The biggest reveal of all is accompanied by one of these.
 * One-Scene Wonder: David Bowie only appears in a handful of scenes, but he absolutely nails them.
 * Out-Gambitted: Both Angier and Borden time and time again.
 * People Jars:
 * Powered By a Forsaken Child: Tesla knows how twisted his is, and even tries to warn  by letter after it is delivered to him.
 * Red Herring:
 * The Reveal: The secrets to both Borden's and Angier's Transported Man tricks.
 * Rival Turned Evil: Both of them. Part of the enjoyment of the movie is trying to decide who has fallen the furthest.
 * Rule of Sean Connery: David Bowie and Michael Caine are in the movie for maybe 15-20 minutes each MAX, but that short amount of time is all that is needed.
 * Serious Business: These people are serious about stage magic. Dangerously serious, in fact.
 * Shout-Out: In the Bullet Catch scene, one of the performers on the list is "Harry Dresden".
 * Single-Minded Twins:
 * Its not perfect though
 * Steampunk: Tesla is the poster wizard for this kind of genre.
 * Stealth Pun: Tesla's assistant is named Alley. He has a cat.
 * Super OCD: Tesla's obsessions.
 * Technician Versus Performer: A key thematic element of the rivalry between Borden (the technician) and Angier (the performer). There's also a bit of this between Angier and his double (whose drunken antics have quite the theatric touch)
 * Teleporters and Transporters: The rivalry is focused around who can pull off this magic trick most convincingly.
 * This Cannot Be!: One of the characters in the end, and arguably the viewer on first watching.
 * Tomato Surprise:
 * Trick Twist: The movie is practically riddled with them.
 * Twin Switch: Angier and his double, Root.
 * What Have We Ear?: Borden likes doing this.
 * World of Cardboard Speech: Angier at the end.
 * White Dwarf Starlet: The actor Angier hires to be his double is a drunken, arrogant, washed-up Shakespearean.
 * A Wizard Did It: It's never described how Nikola Tesla built . He's just a genius.
 * Xanatos Gambit: However,
 * Also qualifies as a
 * World of Cardboard Speech: Angier at the end.
 * White Dwarf Starlet: The actor Angier hires to be his double is a drunken, arrogant, washed-up Shakespearean.
 * A Wizard Did It: It's never described how Nikola Tesla built . He's just a genius.
 * Xanatos Gambit: However,
 * Also qualifies as a
 * Also qualifies as a