Released in between films in The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Prestige may not be one of Christopher Nolan's most ambitious films but is still one of his most intricate. The film follows two rival magicians in the late 19th century, and it is well-known for its double-twist ending. With Nolan's upcoming biopic of J. Rober Oppenheimer currently in the works, it's worth looking back on what made The Prestige tick.
The Prestige is a puzzle box of a film, following the dual perspectives of Hugh Jackman's Robert Angier and Christian Bale's Alfred Borden as they try to uncover each other's secrets. It's a film that is constantly keeping the audience on their toes but leaves several clues for them throughout to piece together the eventual twists.
The Opening Shot
One of the biggest clues in the film comes right at the start, depicting a pile of Angier's top hats laid on the floor near Tesla's laboratory. It's a simple opening, with the titles 'the prestige' overlaying the shot, but it's still one of the most memorable of the 2000s.
While this is a seemingly innocuous, and perhaps confusing way to open the film, it lays a clue for the film's finale. From John Cutter's description of the three-act structure of a magic trick, the third one is 'the prestige', aka the return. The overlaying titles hint at the hat's return in the film, and also how doubles or multiplicity will play a role later on.
Borden's First Line
After Cutter's opening monologue and Angier's introductory narrative in North America, Borden takes over the narrative. In his first voiceover, he says how "we were two young magicians at the beginning of our career, we never meant to hurt anyone," introducing the themes of rivalry and escalating danger in the film.
While the "two magicians" he mentions might initially seem to be Borden and Angier, at the film's end it seems more likely that he's referring to himself and his twin.
"Total Devotion To His Art"
Early in the film, Borden and Angier are instructed by Cutter to go see the performance of Chung Ling Soo, where he makes certain items on a table disappear and then reappear.
When watching the magician leave the theatre, Borden notices how the real trick is his "total devotion to his art," in other words faking his infirmity even when leaving the stage. While Chung Ling Soo's trick isn't remarked upon much, this line reflects how Borden himself is keeping huge secrets for his art by hiding his double.
The Canary
A scene that certainly enhances the film's rewatch value, Borden meets Sarah and her nephew at a magician's performance where he makes a canary appear and disappear. When the magician pushes down the cage into the table, the boy begins to cry, and he continues to do so even when the bird seemingly reappears.
Borden shows him the real bird to show that it's still alive, but the boy replies '"where's his brother", having clocked onto the use of twin birds in the trick. This foreshadows the use of doubles in the Transporting Man trick, especially Angier's, as his trick relies on copies of himself being created while the original is drowned.
Borden's Love Triangle
What most viewers may assume on first viewing is that Borden has begun to cheat on his wife with Olivia Wenscombe. Before the twist, this is quite confusing since he seems to care more about Sarah in some scenes and less so in others, with her even saying how 'some days you're more in love with me than others.'
What is later revealed is that this change in affections between two women is taking place because Borden and his twin both have fallen for two different women. It's an admittedly confusing aspect of Borden's character before the twist, but it adds an extra layer of tragedy when his devotion to the secret comes at the cost of his wife's suicide.
Borden Throws The Ball To Fallon
While this scene takes place late on in the film's narrative, it still is a crucial giveaway to the true identity of Fallon, him being Borden's double. When Borden is in prison, he speaks to Fallon and gives him instructions for looking after his daughter. When he leaves, Borden bounces a red rubber ball, which Fallon catches.
This is a reference to Borden's own Transporting Man trick, where he throws a rubber ball out one door and exits the other to catch it. Using the visual language of that first scene, this scene is a huge clue to the plot twist that Fallon is the second Borden who catches the ball in his trick.
"He Uses A Double"
When remarking on Borden's Transporting Man trick, Cutter essentially guesses the secret to the trick right away. "He uses a double", he says, "there's no other explanation."
Angier doesn't quite figure out the specifics of how Borden's double works, and becomes so invested in finding his own double that he doesn't care to figure out his secret. Olivia even believes that it can't be done with a double, since Borden's wounded hand is the same on both sides, making Cutter the only character who immediately catches on.
The Sailor Who Came Close To Death
Death by drowning is a common occurrence in The Prestige, with Julia dying early on, foreshadowing the many deaths' of Angier's doubles in the film's tragic ending. Early on in the film, Cutter tells Angier how he knew a sailor who came close to death by drowning, whose heart stopped for five minutes.
Earlier in the film, Cutter says how the sailor described the death as "like coming home," to comfort Angier in wake of Julia's death. Later on, he repeats the story, instead of saying how the sailor instead described dying as "agony". This time Cutter's story increases Angier's feeling of guilt towards the dead clones used in his trick, although the audience isn't aware of this yet.
'That Gave Him Complete Power Over Me'
In one small scene, Borden goes to find Angier's double, the alcoholic Gerald Root, who Borden remarks looks like the Great Danton. While Root tries to keep up the ruse of Angier's secret, Borden already knows who he is, and gives him a cautionary tale.
He describes when he used a double in an act himself, how "that gave him complete power over me". While the audience doesn't quite know in what way Borden is using a double, this seems to be more than just a way to manipulate Root, with Borden's double taking over his entire life.
Angier Doesn't Use His Real Name
A throwaway line in the early building blocks of the film, Angier reveals how he doesn't want to embarrass his aristocratic family with his magical endeavors.
Later on in the film when he returns after his faked death, he instead goes by Lord Caldwell. Instead of this being his pseudonym, however, it is Robert Angier who was the faked persona in the first place. This twist also explains how he was able to finance much of his career as a magician while Borden often struggled.