The Big Twist in The Prestige Is Actually Revealed at the Beginning

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As a film enthusiast, I’d like to share my perspective on a common belief: many cinematic artists take delight in challenging their viewers with their creations. They strive to leave their audience feeling as if they’ve just navigated a mental marathon through a maze of mirrors upon exiting the theater. This is the power they wield, making their spectators believe they missed a crucial hint buried within their film, compelling them to purchase another ticket. Christopher Nolan, for instance, demonstrates this skill magnificently in his 2006 masterpiece, “The Prestige,” a gripping and enigmatic story set amidst turn-of-the-century London about two rival magicians. This work stands as a testament to his extraordinary filmmaking ability.

In Christopher Priest’s novel “The Prestige,” the climactic moment leaves viewers breathless as they learn the true essence of Alfred Borden’s “Transported Man” illusion and Robert Angier’s shocking retaliation. However, what if the movie’s pivotal twist, the core secret behind Borden’s inexplicable magic, wasn’t so well-hidden? What if Christopher Nolan subtly hinted at the crucial detail in the film’s early stages while viewers were captivated by the grandeur of “The Prestige”? In fact, long before the main deception unfolds, Nolan makes an unexpected reveal, outsmarting his audience just as a skilled magician does.

If You Were Watching Closely, ‘A Brother’ Was Always There

The Birdcage, a Child’s Question, and Borden’s Deceptively Simple Secret

The enchantment of Nolan’s movie “The Prestige” lies in its faithful portrayal of its theme. Right from the start to the finish, and every moment in between, there is a blend of magic, deceit, control, and fixation. In the initial part of the film, Borden (portrayed by Christian Bale) assists a magician in performing a birdcage trick for Sarah (Rebecca Hall) and her young nephew. As the bird vanishes during the trick, the boy exclaims, “He murdered him.” Later, when Borden brings the bird back to life, the innocent child, unburdened by adult curiosity about intricate illusions, succinctly expresses his concern for the first bird: “Where is his sibling?

This simple question sets the stage for a grand mystery, subtly passed on. In Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” the tantalizing trick that fuels Robert Angier’s (Hugh Jackman) relentless fixation doesn’t originate from a unique, groundbreaking gadget or esoteric wisdom. Instead, it is born out of the combined, lifelong commitment of identical twins, Alfred and “Fallon,” who together present a unified public persona as “Alfred Borden.” One brother performs the magical pledge by entering a cabinet on one side of the stage; the other brother executes the astonishing prestige by appearing from another cabinet on the opposite side almost simultaneously. The secret behind this illusion, known as the ‘turn,’ is the concealed lever that symbolizes their shared existence.

In Nolan’s movie, he subtly introduces a key idea at the start, but then swiftly shifts focus to Julia’s (Piper Perabo) tragic demise during a water tank escape, an event that Angier believes was caused by Borden’s experimental knot. This unfortunate incident triggers a fierce, all-consuming rivalry between the two men, which becomes the main point of interest for viewers. Occasionally, the movie hints at Sara, Borden’s wife, potentially being duplicitous when she questions his affection with “You don’t mean it today.” However, these subtle signs are overshadowed by the intense emotional turmoil that follows. On the other hand, the “brother” clue is clearly presented, but it gets overlooked amidst the storm of emotions.

It’s hardly shocking that Nolan incorporated foreshadowing or revealed spoilers subtly in a brief scene, given his penchant for complex plots and multi-layered narratives over the years. Fans have come to terms with the fact that they might miss intricate details like the “brother clue” in The Prestige during their first viewing. As Nolan himself acknowledges, many of his films reveal their true depth only upon a second watch. In an interview, he discussed this intentional quality of his work, stating:

The Grand Illusion of The Prestige Beyond The Transported Man

Duplicity Was Never Limited to Christian Bale’s Character

In simple terms, Borden’s story revolves around human replication and mutual sacrifice, while Angier embarks on a costly, obsessive pursuit of an extraordinary technological invention. The movie masterfully unveils the reason for this obsession in its climax – Angier himself is a deceiver, as “Robert Angier,” the aspiring American illusionist, is actually Lord Caldlow, a British aristocrat. This secret is subtly suggested early on when his wife Julia jokes about him pretending to be someone else, to which he responds defensively about his family not wanting to be associated with his “stage performances.

According to Nolan’s suggestion, if you watch Angier again, it becomes clear that his aristocratic upbringing and personal wealth allow him to casually tell Nikola Tesla (played by David Bowie), “Cost is not an issue,” when commissioning the extraordinary machine from Tesla. This reveals that Angier is leading a secret life, not for a magic trick, but to evade the limitations or societal pressures of his class, or maybe to pursue a passion that his family would look down upon. This hidden persona adds depth to his intense rivalry with Borden; he, a nobleman with wealth, cannot surpass a common man in their competition.

The intriguing odyssey of Angier from Angier to Tesla in Colorado Springs, driven by Borden’s strategically manipulated diary, filled with cryptic hints centered around the word “TESLA,” skillfully guides the storyline and the spectators into a science fiction domain. In this tale, Tesla is portrayed as an ingenious mechanical mastermind, a sorcerer who can perform actual enchantments. Eventually, he constructs a device for Angier, but there’s a twist: instead of transporting, it duplicates, yielding a flawless, living replica with each activation.

In the story, a new character called “The New Transported Man” compels Angier to perform a shocking deed: the real or stage Angier plunges into a sealed water tank to drown, while his clone emerges from another location to receive applause instead. This ingenious but questionable method is hinted at by Arthur C. Clarke’s insightful statement that “technology indistinguishable from magic” can seem like an overt and visually stunning deception, which is the film’s most striking and magical illusion.

When Angier found himself unable to unravel Borden’s secret, he resorted to employing science in a way that deceived his spectators. He recognized that often, what appears as magic could simply be science or technology that people find hard to comprehend. To illustrate this, consider presenting a man from the 17th century with a 21st-century smartphone. The FaceTime function or the ability to transfer money using a mobile device would appear as sorcery to him. Consequently, Angier’s grandeur and moral ambiguity held immense allure for his audience, making Borden’s relatively low-tech secret seem rather ordinary in comparison.

The Structure of The Prestige is Like the Magic Itself

Christopher Nolan, a skilled storyteller, crafted the movie “The Prestige” with a structure reminiscent of a three-part magic trick, as portrayed by Cutter (Michael Caine) in his introduction and conclusion. In this trick, the parts are known as The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige. As Cutter puts it, “The first act is called ‘The Pledge’,” where the magician displays something ordinary to you. In the movie, the two main characters, who are magicians, display their rivalry from the very start.

In the second act, titled ‘The Turn’, the magician transforms an ordinary object into something miraculous. As their competition intensifies, they resort to extreme violence, secrets are exposed, and impossible stunts are pulled off. However, the secret you seek won’t be found easily… That’s why there’s a third act, ‘The Prestige’, which is full of unexpected plot twists and where lives teeter on the edge. The movie The Prestige finally unveils two shocking truths: Borden’s lifetime deception involving his twin, and Angier’s cycle of replication and self-destruction.

In the movie “The Pledge,” Sara’s nephew’s simple query, “Where is his brother?”, serves as a subtle yet profound clue that sets the stage for the film’s unfolding mystery. The question, at first glance, seems ordinary and innocuous. However, it carries an extraordinary weight that the movie skillfully exploits to toy with our psychological perceptions. As Cutter puts it, “You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled.” There’s a deep-seated yearning in us to embrace something intricate, something enchanting, that might overshadow the simple truth.

The Prestige isn’t just a movie about magic, it subtly embodies the essence of a well-orchestrated trick within its narrative structure. The witty script penned by Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan underscores that many secrets are concealed not through intricacy, but through simplicity, making them appear right before our eyes. This is why, even after almost two decades since its premiere, the film continues to be a grandmasterpiece and a tribute to Nolan’s exceptional ability as a filmmaking illusionist.

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2025-05-20 07:07