The Prestige

The Prestige is a film that was directed by Christopher Nolan and was released in 2006. The film is based around the lives of two magicians named Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) who start out as friends when they are working as assistants for another magician along with Angier's wife Julia. The film takes a turn when Angier's wife Julia is killed when a water escape trick goes wrong, Angier blames Borden for this and they go their separate ways in order to pursue their goals of becoming famous magicians. This begins a rivalry between the two men which intensifies as they become more successful, often with tragic consequences as a result of each of the men's actions. The film is characterised by Christopher Nolan's passion for incorporating non-linear narrative into films which results in the film containing a highly complex storyline as we follow the two men's intensifying rivalry and its effects on them over the course of their lives. Christopher Nolan frequently uses flashbacks to add complexity to the story and to demonstrate the lengths to which both men will go to in order to one-up each other.