The Prestige is a 2006 film by Christopher Nolan about two magicians locked in a deadly rivalry. The ending reveals shocking truths about their secrets that change everything you thought you knew.
The story follows Robert Angier, played by Hugh Jackman, and Alfred Borden, played by Christian Bale. They start as friends helping each other with tricks but become enemies after a tragic accident during a show. Borden’s wife dies because of a knot Angier tied wrong. This sparks a lifelong battle where each man obsesses over the other’s best illusion, the Transported Man. In this trick, the magician vanishes in one box and appears instantly in another across the stage.
Angier cannot figure out Borden’s method. He reads Borden’s diary, which leads him to Tesla, a scientist who builds a machine that duplicates objects. Angier uses it and succeeds with his own version of the trick. But the real twist hits when we learn Borden’s secret. Borden is not one man. He is two identical twins who share one life. They switch places constantly to pull off the Transported Man. One twin lives as Borden, the other as his assistant Fallon. This explains all the odd moments, like sudden personality shifts and strained family life. The twins sacrifice everything, including love and freedom, to keep the illusion alive. As one video breakdown notes, every success and heartbreak splits between them so the trick stays hidden.[1]
Angier, obsessed, drowns one twin, thinking he has won. But the surviving twin frames Angier for murder. Angier then performs his final show, using the machine one last time. He steps into the tank and drowns himself, creating a clone. The clone shoots the twin. In the end, the surviving twin faces execution while Angier’s many clones watch from the shadows. The film tricks you too, hiding the twin reveal in plain sight through misdirection, just like a real magic show.[6]
The diary Angier gave Borden was fake. It lured Borden into a trap, making him doubt his own story. Angier never shared his real method. He kept the machine secret, destroying it to protect the prestige, the wow moment of the trick. Both men chase perfection but destroy each other. Borden wins through loyalty between twins. Angier loses to his own science and clones.[3]
Nolan structures the movie like a magic trick with three parts: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. The pledge sets up the normal world. The turn shows the impossible. The prestige delivers the payoff. The ending is the ultimate prestige, forcing you to rewatch and spot clues you missed.[4]
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgttL92NNMg
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/movie-twists-best-films-all-time-b2887657.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ts87o2Khs
https://ndtv-hindu.com/ending-explained/the-prestige-movie-explained-ending/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BSOwH6aPTc
https://www.avclub.com/the-prestige-plays-a-trick-on-its-audience-hiding-a-se-1798244351
