Cloning technology comes to turn-of-the-century Victorian England

Rating: 5/10 (1 August 2009)

Adapting the novel which "The Prestige" was based on was no easy feat. The film's scenarists, brothers Christopher and Jonathan Nolan wisely jettisoned the subplot from the novel set in the present time which chronicled the machinations of the descendants of the two principal characters. The Nolans also should be congratulated for turning the novel (which features separate diaries of the principal characters written in the first person) into a more coherent third person narrative. Some of the first person diary narration is retained in a series of voice overs but it's not overdone thus preserving the flavor of the novel.
'The Prestige' concerns the running battle between the two well known stage magicians in turn of the century Victorian England, Borden and Angier. In the novel, Borden, a total stranger, initiates the conflict by attempting to expose his rival as a charlatan while Angier moonlights as a medium. In the film, Borden and Angier already know each other while working as apprentice magicians. The Nolans seek to create a stronger motivation for the conflict between the two. They introduce Angier as already being married. Borden is warned by Cutter (the engineer/impresario played by Michael Caine) not to use a certain knot because it's too dangerous when tying Angier's wife's hands during a magic trick. Borden ignores Cutter's advice and as a result of his pig-headedness, Angier's wife drowns when she is unable to untie the knot after being placed underwater in a glass booth. Visually it's a stunning scene but not all that convincing. Borden is depicted as being almost monstrous in the way he crassly ignores all safety procedures; what's more, others take no concrete action during the performance to prevent the mishap from occurring.
Borden's pettiness is matched by Angier later on when he seeks to sabotage a series of Borden's stage acts. As the story develops, Angier shows up in a disguise at Borden's performances on more than one occasion. At one point he rigs a pistol causing it to misfire, which seriously injures Borden's hand. Soon afterward, Borden introduces a new stage act, "The Transported Man", where he steps into one door and then amazingly steps out of another door on the other side of the stage almost instantaneously. We later learn that Borden's assistant is actually his twin brother and the two have been working together to fool the public into believing that 'The Transported Man' is not an illusion.
Angier ends up hiring a look-a-like so he can duplicate Borden's act. For a time it works, but his double is a drunkard who ends up blackmailing him for more money. Angier wants to know the secret to Borden's act, so he enlists his assistant, Olivia, to steal Borden's diary. When he gets his hands on the diary, he realizes he is unable to decode it, so with the help of Cutter, he kidnaps Borden's assistant and holds him for ransom. In exchange for his assistant (who is actually his twin brother), Borden gives him the 'key word' to decode the diary: "Tesla".
Tesla of course is a real character in history who was Edison's rival in the early development of electricity. Borden had met Tesla earlier and employs electrical sparks from Tesla's 'alternating current' generator in his act. Angier goes to Colorado to meet Tesla and offers to buy his generator which he believes can transport matter. As it turns out (and this undermines the film's entire plot), the machine doesn't transport people but actually clones them. Angier goes back to London and every time he uses Tesla's device, a new Angier appears. After each act, ludicrously, Angier is forced to murder each newly created double (and stores the corpses in tanks underneath the stage).
The Prestige has a subplot involving Borden's wife. Sarah, who is unaware of the existence of his twin brother. She learns of Olivia but doesn't understand that its Borden's twin brother who is having the affair with her. Ultimately she commits suicide.
The film's scenarists introduce a new twist in the story's climax different than the novel: Borden ends up murdering Angier by placing an open water-filled glass booth under a trapdoor during one of Angier's performances. Borden is arrested and found guilty at trial of the murder. After Borden is executed, Borden #2 shows up and murders Angier #2. We learn that the man executed was actually Borden's twin brother and the Angier who ended up drowning was actually one of Angier's clones. Borden returns to his daughter and in classic Citizen Kane 'Rosebud' style, Angier's nefarious plan is revealed to the audience. As Tesla's machine along with Angier's 'glass tanks' go up in flames beneath the stage, we can see inside one of them: it's one of the 100 Angier clones, still preserved and evidence of the failed career of a monomaniac.
'The Prestige' must get high marks for art design. The costumes and sets make you feel like you're right there in turn of the century Victorian England. Generally the actors acquit themselves well especially Michael Caine as Cutter (a very minor part in the novel). Christian Bale is convincing as Borden but Hugh Jackman's Angier is ordinary. Surprisingly, David Bowie does quite well as the enigmatic Tesla. The women are not developed at all in the novel and unfortunately nothing much is done with them here in the film.
The principal characters' obsession in attempting to undermine one another takes on a one-note quality thus exposing the characters as one-dimensional. In addition, once the plot veers off into science fiction/fantasy where people are cloned in a blink of an eye, the best one can say about the film is that it would be more fitting as a third-rate Twilight Zone episode. Nonetheless, 'The Prestige' still manages to hold one's interest as it is 'different' and wins points for mood and atmosphere, providing a glimpse into the rarely looked at world of magic during the Victorian era.