‘The Prestige’: This Christopher Nolan’s Film Features His Most Jaw-Dropping Twist

Although the director is most known for his sweeping, emotionally stirring movies, Christopher Nolan is also a master of suspenseful narrative. His films frequently have unexpected turns due to their nonlinear plots and shifting points of view. ‘The Prestige’ is one of Nolan’s most astounding and rewarding twists, even though movies like ‘Memento’ and ‘Inception’ are renowned for their unexpected conclusions.

‘The Prestige’, which is set in the 1890s, centres on duelling magicians Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman). After Angier’s wife is involved in a fatal accident, their feud turns into a dangerous obsession. Borden is executed after Angier falsely accuses him of murder, but he later reappears and exacts revenge. The last discovery reveals that Borden was actually a pair of identical twins who lived as one magician in search of the perfect deception, constantly changing identities.

Image Courtesy: Prime Video

Throughout the movie, this twist is expertly hinted at. From Borden’s cryptic remarks regarding his devotion to his trade to Angier’s employment of a body double, the theme of doubles appears frequently. A child identifying a missing bird’s “brother,” for example, is one of the subtle preludes to the disclosure.

Another dimension of shock is added by the film’s mid-movie twist. Desperate to duplicate Borden’s feat, Angier commissions Nikola Tesla to build a machine. It makes clones rather than teleporting things. Every night, as his copy arises, Angier drowns the original version of himself to carry out his act. His unhealthy fixation is frequently highlighted by his desire to die.

Beyond its plot twists, ‘The Prestige’ itself is reminiscent of the three-act structure of a magic trick: the turn (the revelation of cloning), the prestige (Borden’s last trick), and the vow (introducing rivalry). ‘The Prestige’ is unquestionably one of Nolan’s most outstanding and underappreciated films because of this narrative brilliance.

–Farheen Ali