- Now the ending was a twist. Borden (Christian Bale) is shown shooting Angier (Hugh Jackman) at the end of the movie, after he supposedly 'died'. The fact of the matter is he didn't die because he had a twin. It was his twin who died by hanging in the prison.
Borden and his twin created the character Fallon (the man with the beard and glasses who hangs around with Borden and never really talks -- he was seen visiting Borden in prison when Borden said "You live for the both of us"). Both twins would switch back and forth between these identities. So one day, one twin would be Fallon, the next he would be Borden. This proved to be dangerous, because Borden's wife Sarah, who had killed herself by hanging, never knew about Borden's twin.
So let's say 'Borden A' is the twin that fell in love with Sarah. Some days 'Borden A' would say he loved her, and she knew he meant it. Those days together, they were happy. 'Borden B' however was not in love with Sarah, instead he had an eye on Olivia (Scarlett Johansson). The days Sarah was with 'Borden B' she would be emotionally distressed because this was the twin that didn't love her, but was forced to be with her those days. This sudden change in personality devastated Sarah, which led to her suicide.
Now try to recall when Borden had his hand shot off. He was with his Sarah, opening the bandage and cleaning the wound. She asked how could it possibly be bleeding again. The reason it was bleeding was because 'Borden A', who originally had his finger shot by Angier, hammered off 'Borden B's finger so they would look alike. This prevented anyone from knowing about them being twins.
They were so committed to the illusion that they refused to let anyone know about them being twins. They were inspired by the Chinese magician who pretended to be crippled when he did his magic tricks. There dedication led to Angier's obsession. He was obsessed learning the trick to "The Transported Man". Ironically, John (Michael Caine) insisted he must have used a double, but Angier had denied it because he was lost in his obsession.
- Now let's look at Angier. He got the machine from Tesla. The end of the film reveals what the machine actually did. It didn't transport him, instead it dropped him into a tank beneath the stage making him drown. Then a duplicate, or clone of Angier, appeared at the top of the balcony taking all of the applause. Angier said he was obsessed with magic because of the reaction of the audience, and sadly he was never there to see the reaction because he would drown himself.
The film ends with 'Borden A' re-uniting with his daughter. His twin, Borden B, was hanged and died. They stayed with the illusion until the very end, even at the cost of 'Borden B's' life. The film itself resembled what John said a good magic trick composed of:
"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. 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"."
The Pledge: Borden seemed like an ordinary man who was pursuing a dream as a magician
The Turn: Borden performs the Transported Man, which sparks all of the conflict in the film. You look for the secret constantly, but can't find it. Also, Borden supposedly dies by hanging, so you wonder what's the catch.
The Prestige: Making something disappear isn't good enough you have to bring it back. Borden surprisingly shows up in the end. We find out he wasn't a single individual, but a twin, and it was the twin that died. Borden comes back, finishing the three parts of a good magic trick.
The whole film itself was an illusion, which embodied the three parts of a good magic trick!
Hope all of this helped! The film is very engaging and it is just amazing film making. I hope you learn to love it as I have. If you have any further questions just shoot me an e-mail and I'll answer them for you. Take care!
Borden and his twin created the character Fallon (the man with the beard and glasses who hangs around with Borden and never really talks -- he was seen visiting Borden in prison when Borden said "You live for the both of us"). Both twins would switch back and forth between these identities. So one day, one twin would be Fallon, the next he would be Borden. This proved to be dangerous, because Borden's wife Sarah, who had killed herself by hanging, never knew about Borden's twin.
So let's say 'Borden A' is the twin that fell in love with Sarah. Some days 'Borden A' would say he loved her, and she knew he meant it. Those days together, they were happy. 'Borden B' however was not in love with Sarah, instead he had an eye on Olivia (Scarlett Johansson). The days Sarah was with 'Borden B' she would be emotionally distressed because this was the twin that didn't love her, but was forced to be with her those days. This sudden change in personality devastated Sarah, which led to her suicide.
Now try to recall when Borden had his hand shot off. He was with his Sarah, opening the bandage and cleaning the wound. She asked how could it possibly be bleeding again. The reason it was bleeding was because 'Borden A', who originally had his finger shot by Angier, hammered off 'Borden B's finger so they would look alike. This prevented anyone from knowing about them being twins.
They were so committed to the illusion that they refused to let anyone know about them being twins. They were inspired by the Chinese magician who pretended to be crippled when he did his magic tricks. There dedication led to Angier's obsession. He was obsessed learning the trick to "The Transported Man". Ironically, John (Michael Caine) insisted he must have used a double, but Angier had denied it because he was lost in his obsession.
- Now let's look at Angier. He got the machine from Tesla. The end of the film reveals what the machine actually did. It didn't transport him, instead it dropped him into a tank beneath the stage making him drown. Then a duplicate, or clone of Angier, appeared at the top of the balcony taking all of the applause. Angier said he was obsessed with magic because of the reaction of the audience, and sadly he was never there to see the reaction because he would drown himself.
The film ends with 'Borden A' re-uniting with his daughter. His twin, Borden B, was hanged and died. They stayed with the illusion until the very end, even at the cost of 'Borden B's' life. The film itself resembled what John said a good magic trick composed of:
"Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. 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"."
The Pledge: Borden seemed like an ordinary man who was pursuing a dream as a magician
The Turn: Borden performs the Transported Man, which sparks all of the conflict in the film. You look for the secret constantly, but can't find it. Also, Borden supposedly dies by hanging, so you wonder what's the catch.
The Prestige: Making something disappear isn't good enough you have to bring it back. Borden surprisingly shows up in the end. We find out he wasn't a single individual, but a twin, and it was the twin that died. Borden comes back, finishing the three parts of a good magic trick.
The whole film itself was an illusion, which embodied the three parts of a good magic trick!
Hope all of this helped! The film is very engaging and it is just amazing film making. I hope you learn to love it as I have. If you have any further questions just shoot me an e-mail and I'll answer them for you. Take care!
